Projects for the gender equality promotion will be carried out in 15 localities of the Republic of Moldova

15 civil society organisations in Moldova will receive EU-funded grants to promote gender equality, ensure good governance, support girls and women who want to get involved in public life and help young men and women to become agents of change in their localities. The 15 initiatives will be carried out within the project "Partnerships for women leadership and good governance", implemented by the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation, Moldova and the PA "Institutum Virtutes Civilis", with the financial support of the European Union and the "Friedrich Ebert" Foundation.

The representative of the Resource Centre "Univers", Stas Cebotari will be part of the team that will carry out the project "Young People in Action". The project aimed to involve young people in the decision-making process at the local level. He assured that the organisation he represents will continue to promote gender equality even after the end of the project.

"We aim for the project in question to raise awareness among young people about the importance of involving girls and women in the decision-making process. Also, we will organise training and gender equality promotion activities in several target localities of the project. We will develop a local action plan, through which we will promote social inclusion at the local level. We want to present it later to the authorities and try to get financing for its implementation", said Stas

Cebotari.

presence of the Economic Investment Plan Unit Head for Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, DG NEAR, European Commission, Diana Jabłońska.

The war in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, has affected many groups of population. In addition to directly affected refugees who have had to leave their homes in search of a safer place, the war has also affected vulnerable people and civil society representatives in the neighbouring countries, who have had to work under severe stress. Volunteers and members of civil society associations have stepped in to help the refugees, offering support in various forms, including psychological support. in which they work, developing resilience and crisis management skills. People in Need Moldova, together with the Prague Civil Society Centre and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee, collaborate within the regional project “Resilient Civil Society and Media Respond to the Ukraine War”, funded by the European Union. The primary aim of this project is to work towards capacity building, skills training and the provision of financial resources and psychosocial support to local initiatives to manage the evolving needs of the region affected by the armed conflict. In the trainings provided to beneficiary organisations, People in Need Moldova shared a set of practical tips and tools to manage stress in difficult situations. We discussed how to provide psychological first aid, how to manage the emotional state of teams working with Ukrainian refugees, what are the signs of professional burnout and how to intervene to cope with stress.

Our colleagues developed extremely useful skills, both in managing the heavy workload of crisis situations and in communicating with the media and disseminating information correctly in the public space. Through exercises and group activities, they understood the transformative power of information through multiple tools and channels, and were introduced to basic protection principles and case studies to better understand what needs to be done in practice.

Even though the war has left its painful mark on the lives of many people, both in Ukraine and in Moldova and neighbouring countries, through our common effort we can cope much better with this crisis. People in Need Moldova, together with its partners, will continue its efforts to make the work of volunteers as safe as possible, and to help refugees and war-affected populations to receive aid that is better adapted to their needs.