Alexander Petrov, Director of the Agency for Youth Affairs, noted at the Youth Forum that the agency financially supports the younger generation.
“This is very important because in a democratic society people should unite – it is much easier to manage people and turn society into a totalitarian one when people are dispersed, so we want as many public associations as possible,” Petrov said.
The support includes a grant program for the youth associative sector, as well as grants and training for pupil councils and student self-governance associations.
“School and university should not be limited to lectures and seminars. We want students to organize themselves into various clubs and interest groups after classes,” Petrov stressed.
He said that non-profit youth organizations are “the basis of civil movements all over the world and, in particular, in Moldova”. Through these programs, the Ministry of Education and the agency provide mentoring, financing and support for the implementation of young people’s initiatives.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who was present at the forum, also emphasized the importance of forming leaders among young people:
“We need leaders who will promote democracy and explain it to young people. We need to do more, including school and university, to practice and explain what democracy is”.
The Youth Forum was organized by EURODEV and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation with financial support from the European Endowment for Democracy, the European Commission, the Ministry of Education, the EU Delegation and others.
According to statistics, the number of young people in Moldova aged 14-34 years old is 544 thousand people or 22.8% of the total population. During the last year the number of young people decreased by 23.7 thousand people (4.2%). For one third of young Moldovans, the main source of livelihood is money from parents.
