The state will grant youth centers in the country annual financial support worth 4.5 million lei
Youth centers in the Republic of Moldova will benefit from state financial support worth 4.5 million lei per year, according to a project approved this week by the Cabinet of Ministers. The budget financing of youth centers aims to diversify their activity, especially in rural areas.
The Ministry of Education and Research specifies that the program involves investments to support young people more effectively. Also, the 67 youth centers in the country will access financial resources to develop and implement new services, such as media literacy and financial education, said the Minister of Education and Research, Dan Perciun.
“The resources will be made available to them for infrastructure, equipment, training and activities with young people. In the next five years, we will allocate at least 4.5 million lei each year for this activity. We invite all youth centers to submit project proposals for funding from the Ministry of Education and Research in the next month,” said the official.
Youth centers will receive, based on competitions, financial resources for modernization projects, including headquarters, as well as development projects, said the director of the National Youth Agency, Alex Petrov.
“Certainly 4.5 million lei is not enough to cover 67 centers, and depending on their level of development, we will select through a competition, these youth centers that will benefit from aid. Likewise, this program will provide a framework for non-formal, extracurricular learning for students, so that after school they can organize their time, do their homework at the youth centers, and have access to a computer. Also, they should benefit from non-formal education training: prevention of bullying, violence, communication, parenting, career training and integration into the workforce”, said Alex Petrov.
Low salaries, insufficient financial resources, as well as increasing expenses due to the energy crisis are the main problems faced by youth centers in our country. Their endowment is possible through grants and projects, said the head of the Drochia Youth Center, Mariana Bruma. The initiative of the Ministry of Education to increase funding for this area is welcome, added Mariana Bruma.
“Even with the modernization of the infrastructure, we need to equip the center with technology, for activities, even for training employees. There is a lot of work to do because most centers have opened recently, and they do not have a stable source of income, so they are given a minimum budget to cover some activities. When there are larger activities, they require much larger investments. The resources that will be allocated will be distributed to all centers, starting first, to equip them with the bare necessities, and then they will be offered to larger centers for employee development and training,” said Mariana Bruma.
Youth centers in the country are financed by the state through district councils. In addition to the 4.5 million lei from the national budget, center members can apply for projects to develop the infrastructure of the institutions, but also to provide as many services as possible.
