altogether. Intermsoftransversal time, housing andmilitary service have beendealt with inless detail oromitted urban–rural divisionandthe issue. Aspecialchapter isdedicated to childcare), youth justice while andsport, also anoverview of policy related tosocial security (health andsocial protection, formal), youth transition tothelabour market andentrepreneurship. There is lies on youth policy structures, youth education (formal andespecially non- This is report based onacross-sectoral understanding of youth policy. The focus develop implementationstrategies forthepolicy. Two prepared synthesis reports, the thinking behind youth policy inanevidence-based andinformedway andto ofimportant part thebody of knowledge that is develop neededinordertofurther Since thesereviews werepublished they have, over thepast decade, become an including onecountry fromtheCommonwealth of Independent States (). reviews undertaken inseveral countries inbotheastern andwesternEurope, since 1997.based ontheexperience isthus gainedfromtheprevious The report series of youth policy reviews; is the16thcountry tohave beenreviewed The international review of youth policy inMoldova is of part theCouncil of Europe’s Executive summary considerable distance fromthecapital, as well as someinChi contact with youth policy actors insomesouthernandwesternregions situated a undertaken by theinternational team can beof signifi Therefore, all therecommendations resulting fromtheresearch andobservation First, theRepublic of Moldova is amemberstate of theCouncil of Europe. independent state. It is important tomentionsomeparticularities related toMoldova as an cross-cutting issues (youth information, youth andsocial participation, inclusion). Moldova took place inJune2008,whenthe onthebasisof by adelegation ofexperts of theproductionof anational followed by report, aninternational youth policyinEurope(see Williamson 2002;2008). The reviewprocess consists and signifi theseventhand14th reviewsafter respectively, highlighted bothcommon topics outside of Chi cant differences inthethinking behindandapproaches tonational ş in ă u. The second visit took pl issues, attention theareasof values andreligion,leisure two visits tothe country. The fi team visited the c ace inNovember2008.It included cant value fortheMoldovan has been paidtomigration, apital cityand ş in ă

report prepared report u itself. rst rst visit to areas 5 5 Executive summary 6 Youth policy in Moldova Decree No.1451-IV on26December 2007. The internationalreviewteam the fi 1. ofEducationThis detailwasprovidedbytheMinistry and Youth ofitsresponseto aspart Second, 2008wasproclaimed asthe“Year of Youth” inMoldovabyPresidential commitment tothedevelopment of its own youth policy. Council of Europeinthesphereof youth policy areof relevance forMoldova’s Council ofEuropecountries. Italsomeansthatallthedecisionstaken bythe Government, which is striving forgood andproductiverelationships with other similar tothosealready adopted by its European neighbours. and howsuccessfully thegovernment is implementingprogrammes andplans representatives of theEUhowfar Moldova is pursuingaEuropean youth agenda by theMoldovan Government will showboththeMoldovan authorities and policy. That is why theinternational report onthe youth policy inMoldova initiated is already opentobothEUandCouncil of Europeinitiatives related toits youth and not necessarily as urgent orimmediate priorities for youth policy. Moldova recommendations can thereforebe viewed as that supporting aimforthefuture achieving thegoals andprerequisites necessary forEuropean integration. Some accepted as candidates fortheEuropean Union(EU),but it is fully committed to theRepublicFourth, of Moldova is not yet ontheshortlist of countries tobe and toopenly discuss themwith theinterestedparties. controversial issues intheprocess of youth policy implementation inMoldova will notbewelcome. However, ofthemission the oftheIRT itispart toidentify It is quitepossible that somecritical remarks made by theinternational team “rubber stamp” current orientations anddevelopments inMoldovan youth policy. (the teamtriedtocheck Government inrespect of youth is reasonably ontrack, purposeful andeffective Europe toensure that thedirectionof policy making selectedby theMoldovan It is thereforeimportant forthecountry toreceive fromtheCouncil support of Third, in2009 Moldova is toholdbothparliamentary andpresidential elections. of theRepublic of Moldova. other European countries can literally helptosafeguard andenhance thefuture providing youth with the values that arecommon tothe younger generation in poorest inEurope”,as it is depicted,foralongtimetocome. often That is why the all-round development of young people,thecountry is likely toremain “the legal, economic andsocial conditions andtoprovide securefoundations for situation inrespect of migration. If thegovernment fails tocreate theappropriate activities. Ithas visible strategic importanc Government of theRepublic of Moldova as oneof themost important governmental the existencevery of thecountry. Youth policy is undoubtedly viewed by the and great potential forthefuture of Moldova; investingin youth means securing the youth policy inthecountry. Indeed,the younger generation represents hope team toshare theirEuropean experience andcontribute totheimprovement of a special programme of youth activities for 2008 andinvited theCouncil of Europe nal draft of theinternational report. whether th (IRT) is was was not, indeed thecase, 1 The government thereforeestablished e because oftheextremelydiffi however, conducting thereviewto and inwhatrespects). cult practitioners and young people,wereheldinChi non-governmental institutions concerned with youth policy, as well as with youth 2008. Duringthese meetingswithkeyvisits, severalimportant governmental and itself. missionwasspecifi The focusoftheadvisory some of the youth policy priorities that shouldbefocusedonduringthereview fortheCouncilvisit as apreparatory rest oftheinformation wasacquired bytheteammembersthroughobservation, the Ministry of Social Protection,Family andChild,theMinistry of Health). The such as theMinistry of Education and Youth, theMinistry of Culture and Tourism, while further issues were addressedduringthe issues were while further from 9-14June 2008. Some important issues werecovered duringthefi Youth and withinSport theCouncil of Europe. The fi Third, theIRT, made upof fi related to youth policy andits implementation inMoldova. in theinternational as report oneof themain sources of offi youth policy, which wasdistributedinearlyJune2008. This textisusedextensively Second, theMinistry of Education and Youth preparedadraft national on report the endof 2007. and development;recommendations onthat issue weremade totheMEY before missiontookadvisory place from5-7 December 2007. This missionalsoserved its “directionof travel” andtomove with moreconfi Overall, themain sources of information forthis includedthefollowing: report with theissue. websitesand visits tothe localinterviews, andnational organisations connected protocols of meetings,andspecially prepared information fromseveral ministries, on youth policy wereprovided fortheteam (leafl establish an“advisory mission” toChi asked by theMinistry of Education and Youth (MEY)of theRepublic of Moldova to in Moldova.First,theCouncil ofEurope(Directorate of Youth and was Sport) There wereseveral steps leading uptotheinternational review of youth policy issue within a short space oftimein issue withinashort of Europe. specifi The missionhada very arrangement betweentheinviting ministry andateam assembled by theCouncil the Directorate of Youth and withinSport theCouncil of Europeis aconfi In additiontotheNational several Report, offi other smaller cities and villages. – two one-week visits toMoldovabytheinternational reviewteaminJune – the draft national on report youth policy inMoldova preparedby the a complete protocol of themeetings anddiscussions of theIRT duringthe – Ministry of Education and Youth; two country visits; two country and November 2008; ve teammembers, wasassembledbytheDirectorateof order to of Europeinternational review, byagreeing ş in c focus andfunction: toadvise onthe ă u. Anadvisory mission undertaken by assist the cial andnon-offi second visit fr second visit ets andbrochures, handouts, cally onout-of-school learning rst triptoMoldova took place ş dence inthat direction. The in ă inviting ministry to clarify toclarify inviting ministry u, Ungheni,Comrat and om 3-7 November ca information cial cial documents cial rst visit, rst dential 7 Executive summary 8 Youth policy in Moldova New Independent States of theformer (NIS). 2. The International Association forthepromotion of cooperation with scientists fromthe ofEducation and Ministry key stakeholders in youth policy, together with amoreformal response fromthe Chi in Moldova. These recommendations werepresentedat anational hearing in organisationsfor theparticular involved intheimplementation of youth policy the current state of the youth policy andtoprovide somerecommendations All theabove-mentioned sources made it possible toproduce anoverview of learn about Moldova and its younger generation. Ms and meetings with youth activists. Special thanks are expressed totheMinister, about thesituationof youth inMoldova, and ithelpedbyarrangingseveral visits and Youth: its careful work anddevotion helpedtheteam agreat deal inlearning The IRT alsoexpresses its sincere thanks tothestaff of theMinistry of Education express its gratitude toall andindividuals theparties involved. hospitality andgenerosity, werecrucial tothereview process. The IRT wants to Moldovan youth workers andeffectiveness of theirpresentations, as well as their The dedication andinvolvement of theMoldovan theopenness partners, of the text. this ş Ş in avga, involvement whosesupport, andhospitality alsohelpedtheIRT to fi research – offi – – documents andhandouts provided by theMoldovan authorities and – additional documents andsources consulted inthecourse of the ă u on5February 2009 andledtoa vigorous discussion. The feedback from partners duringthereview process; preparation of theinternational review. 2008 duringthemeetingwith theIRT; and direction of Professor P. Abbot andpresentedtotheMEY inNovember Independent Sociology andInformation Service “Opinia”,under the cial websites of theRepublic of Moldova andotherInternet sources; ndings of anINTAS Youth, has been incorporated bywayoffootnotesin 2 project onMoldovan youth run by the multilateral developedpersonality” (National p. Report, 24). economic, political andjuridical-social guarantees forthedevelopment of a fi the National Report refers tothe youth policy as the“state policy inthe youth possible toelaborate thepolicy andthendeliverit tothe youth. Inmany cases, same time,thereis anoperational understanding of youth policy that makes it being, theterm“youth policy”lacks aclear defi The legalsystemforthe youth po As fortheReport on Youth Policy intheRepublic of Moldova family policy andchildcare. health, values andreligion,leisure andculture, military service, youth justice, not restrictedto)such policy domains as education, training andemployment, (Williamson 2002; 2008).According tothesetexts, youth policy includes (but is volumes 1and2of The frameworkin twobooks: hasitsfoundations of youth policyusedinthisreport Preface 3. This is report referredtoas theNational Report elsewhereinthetext. The strategy establishes thefollowing priorities forthe youth sector: affi as well as thecreation of afavourable environment forthedevelopment and framework forimproving of participation young peopleinall social processes, to understand andmake useof theirrights,theadoptionof aninstitutional The National Youth Strategy foresees the construct aprecise view of the youth policy inMoldova. The National Report (p. 13) alsodefi Moldova tothestandards that have beendefi the lastdecade andhasmadeitpossible to orientthenational youth policyof eld” anddescribes this policy as “asystem of measures forensuring thesocial, rmation of young people. 2. Increased of participation young peopleinpublic lifeandactive Access of young peopletoinformation andservices; 1. citizenship; Supporting Young People inEurope nes theNational Youth Strategy that helps to licy inMoldova development of youn ned inEuropean documents. nition inthis document.At the has been by Howard Williamson

g people’s (2008), developed during 3 forthetime capacities 9 9 PrefaceExecutive summary 10 Youth policy in Moldova of theMoldovan offi “European standards” of youth policy, which wasoneofthedeclaredaspirations The IRT will alsoconsider towhat extent theMoldovan youth policy matches the with theempirical duringits implementationofthe visits. youth policyasobserved youth policy inMoldova (as presentedinthelegal andotheroffi documentary information inorder tocompare theoffi In this international theIRT report, will make useof theabove-mentioned . Development of human andinstitutional4. capacities inthe youth fi Opportunities foremployment of young3. people; cials inthe youth fi eld. cially constructed model of cial documents) eld. such areview takes place): hasrequestedthat acountry is asfollows(after ofthereviews The methodology remained thesame. These arethefollowing (Reiter et al.2008,p. 5): process. Since thenthe youth policyoveradecade ago.Finlandwasthefi The Council of Europeestablished anembryonic process forreviewing national Methodology – the composition of aninternational review team, usually comprising visit to a preparatory – – to buildaframework forthinking about youth policy across Europe. – totheothermemberstatesofCouncilto offerideasfromthatcountry – to provide anexternal refl fi a – – the productionof anational on report youth policy by thecountry the completion of theinternational– report; a national hearing inthecountry– concerned; the preparation of adraft international– report; – a second visit bytheinternational reviewteam–usually involving of Europe; senior offi of Youth and ofSport theCouncil of Europe(theCDEJ,composed of one representative fromeach of the statutory bodies of theDirectorate three youth researchers (one of whomis designated as rapporteur), concerned; organisations) andamemberof the Secretariat; Advisory Council on Youth, which represents non-governmental youth implementation andpractice; visits beyond thecapital city andexploringissues of youth policy central administration and youth policy objectives andaspirations; rst visit by visit rst cials inthe youth fi the international reviewteam –usuallyfocusedonthe process has establish key issue ection onacountry’s youth policy; been refi eld frommembergovernments, andthe ned but theinitial objectives have s andpriorities; rst country to volunteer forthe 11 11 MethodologyExecutive summary 12 Youth policy in Moldova understanding of thegoals of youth policy at anational level. the sphereof youth policy or, onthecontrary, onsomeconcerns about aproper be moreontheissues that indicate theachievements of country aparticular in national government andtheEuropean structures), thefocus of thereview can in youth policy, thepolitical status of thecountry, therelationship betweenthe development of thecountry andtheamount of fi policy, as well as onothercontextual conditions (such as thelevel of economic However, country dependingontheparticular andits priorities inthearea of youth detailsfurther see Williamson 2002; 2008). review process have beendefi The process is public andtransparent. Boththeobjectives andthenature of the – a follow-up meetingwith thecountry concerned, ideally taking place – an international hearing beforetheJoint Council on Youth of theCouncil about two years later. of Europe; ned andelaborated inanumberof publications (for nance thegovernment can invest or inthedistributionofinformationonan of this transition (such as changes innon-formal education, vocational training, market arealsothecrucial ones interms of youth policy. However, many aspects Education-related issues that areaffected by theMoldovan transition tothe culture (includingeducation), with thegoal of adjustingthemtothemarket. to thegeneral process of reforminseveral spheres of thenational economy and some domains wereselectedas having priority. These issues aredirectly related During thecomplex modernisation of Moldova’s youth policy during Youth Year, It is clear that not all domains of youth policy have equal importance forthecountry. domains of youth policy. – wherenecessary –theintroductionand/orimprovement of actions inseveral team makes recommendations directions suggesting further fordevelopment and understanding that, regardlessof are not yet entirely clear. Offi need tobeintroduced. On development; andthoseactivitiesthatarecurrentlymissingbut arguably concept of youth policy;thoseactions that areonly points thestarting forfurther successful andgoing intheright directionwithin theframework of theEuropean the IRT’s views: thoseactions andevents that can beconsidered as being during theIRT’s two visits. The anal domainthat wasreceivedinformation ontheparticular fromMoldovansources At thebeginningof thediscussion of each issue, describes thereport the ofin otherparts thereport. housing, military service or youth justice; theseissues areonly mentionedbriefl in this For thesereasons report. therearenospecial sub-chapters onreligion, consequently minimal, andthereforethesedomains areonly briefl cases whentheinformationwas many spheres as possible within theabove-mentioned youth policy framework. In and youth justice. Duringourwork inMoldova, theIRT members triedtocover as health, values andreligion,leisure andculture, family andchildcare, housing, Howard Williamson (2008,pp. 22-28): education, training andemployment, this wemainly report followed thegridof youth policy domains as defi Many domains of theMoldovan youth policy can be viewed as key ones.In Research for and structure ofthereport the basisofsuch analysis,theinternational review cials fromthedifferent ministries expressed their not available to not available what hasbeenalready ysis thatfollowsthe equal basisinadiverseenvironment) the IRT, accomplished, Moldova our underst description indicates y discussed y anding ned by ned was y 13 13 ResearchExecutive forsummary and structure of the report 14 Youth policy in Moldova The structure of this report consistsThe structureof thisreport ofgeneralinformationonthesituationin exclusion andhealth risk behaviour. youth challenges forMoldova, such as emigration, traffi to beessential prerequisites whenattemptingtoameliorate contemporary youth policy development andimplementation inMoldova. They areconsidered The international therefore report pays attentiontotheseaspects particular of transition period: of paramount importance fortheeconomic survival of thecountry duringthe Additionally, theMoldovan offi transition of thecountry andthenecessity toadjust tothenewconditions. about youth –whiletheothers refl generation. The legal generation. The Moldova andtheconditions provided by theMoldovan Government forits young 681 fi Commission’s White Paper on“Anewimpetus forEuropean youth” (COM(2001) Some of thesekey priorities wereindeedcentral themes intheEuropean the current focus onenterprise is development. support of alsoworthy further education inthelearning pathways of its young people. Within thelabour market, information systems, andmake aserious appraisal of theroleof non-formal needs topaymoreattentionteaching with someoftheareas thatpreviousinternationalreviewshavesuggestedare Other transversal questions andissues arealsoaddressed, beforeconcluding youth policy inMoldova. The threemost prominent are: social andeconomic conditions andwhich affect thepractical implementation of Some attentionis thenpaidtoissues of importance particular in theexisting to theimplementation of youth policy there. Next, weanalyse the youth organisations that exist inMoldova andthat contribute discussed and thekey spheres fortheselected youth policy arethendescribed. nal) –information, participation, voluntary service andbetterknowledge non-formal learning. – entrepreneurship; and – transition tothelabour market;– – – The mainpriorityareasin youth policydevelopmentwereindicated in urban–rural division. – migration; and – the Transnistria– region; building; (f)access toinformation; and(g)participation. employment; (c)non-formal education; (d) voluntary work;(e)capacity pp.Report, 24,27, 28,33-37): (a) vocational education; (b) youth the draft national of report theRepublic of Moldova as follows (National basis for the youth policy intheRepublicof Moldovaisalso cials focusedtheirattentiononthreeissues ect thenewchallenges related tothemarket styles, placestro cking, widespread social nger emp hasis on hasis on was concluded priortotheendof2008–subjectonlyfactual corrections and early of part 2009. However, theformal review of national youth policy inMoldova its national elections, Moldova fi Ministry of Education and Youth (June 2009). Readers will beaware that, following feedback andcomments fromboththenational hearing (February 2009) andthe team. authorities inMoldova andnot amatter forcomment by theinternational review ministry –andany developments since that timeareaninternal matter forthe consideration of alternative perspectives fromthenational hearing andfromthe The international repor A noteontimescale of recommendations that may benefi to helpits policy makers refl andweaknessesboth thestrengths of national youth policy inMoldova inorder and what can bedonetodevelopits youth policy inthefuture. highlightsThe report between seekstodistinguish The report the dissemination of good practice. important foundations forthedevelopment of youth policy:research, training and t wasfi ect ontheircurrent practices andconsider arange gured prominently intheinternational news inthe nalised inthemiddleof June 2009, following t youth policy development inthecountry. what hasalreadybeendoneinMoldova 15 Research for and structure of the report

Moldovans. It is expectedthat thecurrent Russian fi affected Moldova causing, according tooffi accrues fromagriculture,although20 line). Currently, only onefi the CIA World Factbook, almost 30%of thepopulation livedbelowthepoverty 21st century, MoldovawasoneofthepoorestnationsinEurope(according to Currently, themajor problem forMoldova is poverty. At thebeginningof the Development Index. that greatly infl Moldovahasclosetrading services. agricultural. Anotherfi the governmentcan currently provide.Mold one offi of Moldova is vulnerable As andtherefore reformandinvestment. needs further resources (like many otherformer Soviet republics), theeconomy of theRepublic level of annual growth.However, beingstrongly dependent onRussian energy to positivegrowthonlyin2000. Since thenit hasshownasmallbutconstant people lost theirjobs. According tooffi agricultural sectormeant that agricultural productiondeteriorated, andmany were situated,there wasa high levelofout-migration. The rapidreformsinthe confl achieve any signifi state. Duringits fi After thebreakdown of the Soviet Unionin1991, Moldova became anindependent past was the universal lit population still livedinrural areas. The second achievement of Moldova’s Soviet industrialised. Itwasagreat partly after World War II,newindustrial enterprises were created andMoldova became the population livedin villages andwereemployedoncollective farms. However, Soviet republicsoftheUSSR. Itwasprimarilyanagriculturalregion:themajorityof ideological camps, thecommunist andthe the endof World War II.Duringtheperiodof strugglebetween thetwoworld of ,MoldovawasincorporatedFormerly part intothe Soviet Unionat 1. Introduction toMoldova ict inthe Transnistria region,where the most developedindustrial enterprises cial explained, theMoldovan economy needs much moreinvestment than uences its economy; theRussian fi rst years of independence, theRepublic of Moldova didnot cant positive economic progress. As aresult of themilitary fth of theGDPcomes andtheremainder fromindustry from eracy of theMoldovanpopulation. fth of theMoldovan (GDP) achievement, eventhoughthemajorityof relations withtheRussianFederation and cial data, theMoldovan economy returned years agothere cial data, an exodus of some600000 ova hasbeenranked capitalist, Moldova nancial crisis of 1998 severely severely 1998 of crisis nancial began that crisis nancial public wasprimarily was oneof 111 intheHuman the 15 17 17 IntroductionExecutive summary to Moldova 18 Youth policy in Moldova In order to provide equal opportunities in In ordertoprovideequal opportunities of somesmaller minorities:Gagauz (4.4%), Bulgarians, Roma/Gypsy andJewish. On aEuropeanscale, theRepublicofMoldovahasarelativelysmall population. majority of thepopulation, morethan half of which lives inthecountryside. This is inlinewith themostly traditional national culture andlifestyleof the in Romania, with its highlevel of religious affi indicates theirnon-religiosity. The religious situation in Moldova is similar tothat is in contrast toneighbouringUkraine, of wherealmost thepopulation onequarter The religious affi languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian, andotherlanguages). this aretotrain department teachers capable of teaching children intheirnative established fortheeducation adepartment of national minorities;thetasks of ethnic Ukrainians(8.4%) and5.8%are the population areethnic /Romanians less (76.1%), than 10%are population. The last census in2004 indicates that morethan of threequarters Moldova is amulti-ethnic state, thoughoneethnic groupdominates the population. states, Russian is alsowidely spoken andit is thenative language of 11%of the used onotheroccasions –inschools of andinpart the media.As inall theCIS language” ismainly limitedtothepolitical sphere,whereas“Romanian” is independence, thestate language is called Romanian. Use of theterm“Moldovan “use acommon literary form”(National p. Report, 3).InMoldova’s declaration of language. However, it is offi The declares theMoldovan language tobethesolestate the EU’s European NeighbourhoodPolicy (ENP). Union andis implementingits fi programme at anearly stage. Moldova currently aspires tojoining theEuropean been aneutral country; it became amemberof theNATO Partnership forPeace international organisations. Since itsindependence, hasoffi Moldova (CIS), theOrganization of theBlack Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) andother , andMoldova), theCommonwealth of Independent States Democracy andEconomic Development (ODED),alsoknownas GUAM (, Organization for Security andCo-operation inEurope(OSCE), theOrganisation for state of theUnitedNations (UN),the (WTO), the criteria inmany spheres,includingthat of youth policy. Moldova is alsoamember Council of Europe.As aresult,the authorities meetingEuropean areorientedto , as its president. The Republic of Moldova is amemberof the Moldova became thefi (adopted in1994) sets theframework forthegovernment of thecountry. In2001, of state andaprimeminister as head of government. The Constitution of Moldova The Republic of Moldova is aparliamentary democracy with apresident as head migrants fromMoldova (primarily men)work inRussia. in 2008will alsonegatively affect theMoldovan economy. Additionally, many According tothe latest offi liation of 98%of thepeopleof Moldova is Eastern Orthodox. This rst former Soviet state todemocratically elect acommunist, cial statistics provided onthewebsite of theNational cially acknowledged that Moldovan andRomanian rst three-year actionplan within theframework of ethnic Russians. The re primary education, primary liation with theOrthodox Church. the gov mainder co ernment nsists cially has available inpractice (ibid.). accurate fi this variation is probably theenormous temporary migration, andpartly sothat aged 16-30 of between1.1and1.45million as at 2008. 1January The reason for tables intheNational Report (p. 6),Moldova had apopulation of young people of The proportion youth inthepopulation is rather signifi mentioned, equal toonethirdof thetotal population. With thehighlevel of migration already As estimated intheNational thenumberof Report, young peopleis approximately abandoned children and young peopleleft without parental care. the Moldovan population. Anotheraspect of out-migration is thehuge number of level of education. Hence, migration leads totheloss of aneducated stratum of degree, andtherest (morethan amillion) had completed highschool orahigher least ahighschool level of education, while600000migrants had auniversity between menandwomen to 2million in2006(amongthem71000 young peopleunder 16),whiletheratio will thecountry will beable tomeet thecurrent global challenges, complete the a general improvement intheeconomic situation inMoldova. Only throughthis population as at 1 January population asat1 January Bureau of Statistics of theRepublic of Moldova (www.statistica.md), thetotal 000 thatwas approximately onethirdof thecountry’s total population. This numberis closetothe800 According totheNational in2008thepopulation Report, aged between16and30comprised population of some4.3 million, 820000(19%) of whomwere young peopleaged 15-24. information. Thus, according totheUnited States Census Bureau, in2005Moldova had a 4. Inordertodeterminethenumberof youth moreprecisely wecan useothersources of (see UNICEF 2006).Asforthenumberofout-migrants,Study itwasclose Report who go abroadtoseek employment inItaly, , andothercountries the younger generation: they eithergo abroadthemselves orlosetheirparents with migration of thepopulation. This problem greatly infl problem ofMoldovahasanextremelyserious It isnosecretthattheRepublic Europe, this is not anageing rate nation, is althoughthe birth not high. than onethirdof thecountry’s population. Incomparison with of otherparts show thatthepopulationagedbetween 16and30was1029 280–alittleless Statistics shows statistics fordifferent age groups for2007. Simple calculations has toimprovethesocialandeconomic conditions for youth inthecontext of of its younger generation to“stay at home”.Inordertorealise this, the country being young peopleunder 30, thecountry greatly depends onthewillingness 5. Offi during theITR’s fi working abroad.However, it is diffi that the economy of Moldova broadly depends onthemigrants’ contributions. money they earn andbringhomeis estimated tobe30%of thecountry’s GDP. This means other estimates, at least 25% of theworking age population work abroad;theamount of cial estimates suggest between athirdandhalf amillion Moldovans are,at any time, gures forthe youth population andforthetotal population arenot 5 mentioned bytheoffi andwith, according tosomeestimates, at least half of migrants rst visit toMoldovainJune2008. was 2:1. 2008 was3572700. 4 Nevertheless, thewebsite Nevertheless, of theNational Bureau of cial representative of theMinistry of Education and Youth cult toprove fi any particular Only around100000migrants didnothaveat uences thesituation of cant. According totwo gure. According tosome 19 Introduction to Moldova 20 Youth policy in Moldova election is scheduled for2009. There arealso17 independent deputies intheparliament. The next parliamentary Moldova, the Social Liberal Party, andtheChristian-Democratic People’s Party. thePartyin theparliament Alliance (55)), OurMoldova, theDemocratic Party of Communist Party of theRepublic of Moldova (it currently holds amajority of seats amongthemarethe The RepublicofMoldovahasseveralpolitical parties; positions. they arenot subordinate toany other power andcannot beremoved fromtheir Magistrates’ Council. foratermofThe judges six serve years, duringwhich time by thepresident, twoby theparliament,andremaining twoby theHigher treaties. The Constitutional Court is composed of six judges: twoareappointed judicial review over all acts of parliament, presidential decrees andinternational also establishesanindependentConstit both appointments beingsubject toparliamentary approval. The constitution who functions as thehead of government, andwhointurn assembles a cabinet, the deputies (aminimumof 61 votes). The president appoints aprimeminister and inordertobeelected,acandidate must win of thesupport threefi four vote every years. The president, as head of state, is electedby theparliament unicameral parliament,which has101 Moldova is apresidential republic. The Moldovan central legislative body is the meets thelegal andpolitical requirements tomove inthe“European direction”. regime of acountry andthestructure of its main political institutions. Moldova To agreat extent,therealisation of state strategic goals depends onthepolitical and will neverbeimplemented. Ifinvestment. it does not,theproclaimed political goals may remain unrealistic home, as well as totally reconstruct its national economy andfi market, provide the young peoplewith lifemanagement skills, create newjobs at develop its human resources, that is, educate its youth fortheneeds of thecurrent prosperity. However, inordertomove inthis direction,Moldova needs toquickly ties with theEuropean Union. This political directionis viewed as away toachieve Republic of Moldova is orientated towards development of thefurther its close According tothemain goals onthecurrent Moldovan political agenda, the Moldova intheenlarged European economic space. In thelong-termperspective,they arealso connected with thefull inclusion of a successful transformation of Moldova intoamarket economy anddemocracy. new market conditions. These issues aredirectly connected with theprocess of related issues of training andemployment have become paramount under the policies, theissues of youth education (bothformal andnon-formal) andthe for theGovernment of theRepublic of Moldova. Within thewide scope of youth For thesereasons, theideaofa“youthpolicy”hasbecome themainpriority country is currently facing. if Moldova wants tofi create abasisforitsfutureeconomic growth. These radical changes arenecessary economic andsocial modernisation, establish aknowledge-based economy and ght thehighlevel of poverty andunemployment that the seats; itsmembersareelectedbypopular utional Court, which hasthepowerof nd newsources of fths of fths countries. probably onagreater scale than inmoreeconomically stable andless dependent necessary toseek alternative sources of fi be dramaticallypolicy hasto onthecontrary, curtailed: thissituationmakes it problems of fordelivery youth policy. However, this does not mean that the youth citizens andfi to theconstruction of civil society; young peoplemust learn howtobeactive Youth policyinMoldova alsohastomeetthecurrentglobalchallenges related develop theskills they needtoobtain awell-paid job. the labour market, includinggiving themaneducation that will enable themto must refl of young peoplefromMoldova. Therefore, inordertofi although thelowlevel of wages is aneven moreimportant reason fortheoutfl just over 7%,this is oneof themajor reasons formigration of theworkforce, limited fi the pooreconomic progress of Moldova intheworldeconomy andtothecountry’s Another serious problem forMoldova is unemployment. Ingeneral, it relates to ofother parts Moldova. there, as well as hinderingtheorganisation of joint actions with NGOs fromthe the regionandfunctioning of the youth NGOs conducting youth programmes Currently, thestatus of Transnistria is restrictingtheeconomic development of (see wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova). The solutiontothis problem is oneof thepriorities declared by President Voronin breakaway authority under thename of thePridnestrovian Moldovan Republic. central Government of Moldova. The real administration thereis anunrecognised international community, Transnistria is not defacto under thecontrol of the dispute. Althoughit is of dejurepart Moldova andis recognised as such by the regions (G ofThe territory Moldova is divided into 32 districts (rayons) with twoautonomous activities andprogrammes for youth. The lack of state fi than Moldovan citizens and/orthestate institutions offermany of theimportant national economy andits social welfare programmes. That is why outsiders, rather order todevelopthecountry fromwithin. This is trueforall spheres of theMoldovan country. The Republic of Moldova does not have the fi available andobservations made by theIRT, Moldova remains adonor-driven situation uncertain andnot sustainable. According tothestatistical information It is important tomentiononemoreeconomic problem that makes theMoldovan insociety.for activeparticipation skills neededforpersonal lifemanagement, andobtain theinformation required people with theopportunities toreceive proper vocational training, learn the life incontemporary society. It is apriority forstate institutions toprovide young that can help young peopletopreparethemselves fortheuncertainties of adult youth policy must includeseveral patterns of non-formal andinformal education level knowledgeandskillsthattheyneedintoday’s world. Therefore, key areasof modern system of education can provide the younger generation with thehigh- ect this situation andprovide young peoplewith newopportunities in nancial resources. Althoughthe ă g ă nd opportunities forself-realisation indifferent spheres of life. The uzia and Transnistria). The status of Transnistria is, however, under nance andtodevelop youth initiatives unemployment ratein nancial means necessary in nd asolution, youth policy nancing creates additional 2006 was only ow 21 Introduction to Moldova