Fostering Active Civic Engagement (FACE)

Ministry of Education and Research, girls and boys, including those left behind, those representing ethnic minorities, and youth from Ukrainian refugee families, local activists, youth resource centers and civil society organizations working in community engagement and civic education, teachers and schools throughout Moldova, incl. Transnistria.

Final beneficiary is the Moldovan society as a whole, benefitting from improved democratic processes and enhanced levels of social cohesion.

Outcome 1: National policy and methodological frameworks to prepare young people for democratic citizenship and support their participation in decision making processes at the local and national levels are further strengthened.

Outcome 2: Professionals and institutions in the education and youth sectors prepare young people for life in democratic societies and support the participation of young people in public life.

Outcome 3: Girls and boys (adolescents and youth) practice competences for democratic culture and actively participate in decision-making processes in formal and non-formal settings.

Principaux résultats attendus:  

• National policy framework to develop competences for democratic culture through formal education is further aligned to the Council of Europe's standards, and policies for youth civic participation at national and local levels are scaled-up
• Teachers strengthen their professional capacities to apply new approaches in teaching competences for democratic culture in a supportive institutional environment, and youth sector institutions expand their capacities for effective coordination and implementation of youth development programs
• An increased number of boys and girls have access to various tools / platforms / opportunities in formal and non-formal settings to develop and practice competences for democratic culture, to participate in decision-making processes and in community development initiatives

Principaux résultats antérieurs:   In Phase 1, through investing in national capacities, national curricula and teaching materials, "silos" between formal and non-formal civic education in Moldova were broken. Methodologies for teaching civic education in schools, ensuring democratic school governance and delivering youth services were successfully piloted, and good cooperation practices were established among community actors. Since 2018, over 116'700 adolescents and young people (60% girls, 45% from rural areas) designed and implemented numerous local initiatives on environment, intergeneration dialogue, youth friendly spaces, support to refugees from Ukraine, etc. More than 400 civic education teachers and youth workers, and local public authorities in 11 (out of 35) districts built capacities to involve young people in local development initiatives and decision-making processes. Further results were hampered by systemic issues (such as the lack of resources and low status of the teaching profession).