In early April, 10,000 young people from Straseni, Edinet, and Taraclia districts signed up to participate in the “Your Voice Matters!” project. The initiative, developed by UNICEF Moldova and the Association of Intellectual Games, was launched with the objective of providing young people with soft skills and actively involving young people in engaging opportunities, including activities promoting peace education, and freedom of expression.
The project also aims to engage young people from Moldova and Ukraine in school life through the U-Report Moldova platform. During three months of intensive outreach and training in strategic planning, implementation, and advocacy, the young participants were informed and capacitated on existing tools and mechanisms for participation in decision-making processes in their schools and local communities.
The young U-Reporters also raised their issues and challenges in education through a U-Report poll; and held discussion sessions where they highlighted key issues, including the challenges in youth activism and accessing environmental education. As part of the project, the young attendees built the U-Report Garden in the main park of Chisinau. Through this climate action, 1,000 new trees were planted as a symbol of commitment and youth aspiration for a better future.
Maria (17) and Tatiana (19), young participants, shared their experiences. Read what they said:
“An invaluable experience”: Maria (17), student and active volunteer
“Your voice matters!” is about emotionality, an invaluable experience, and self-realization! I am happy to participate in such a large-scale and cool project. One of the most attractive aspects is that it encourages students to speak up and take part in decision-making processes regarding their own learning process and environment.
Participating in the project made me feel like an important and respected community member whose opinions and ideas have real weight. In addition, it has provided me with experience in teamwork by learning how to communicate with other students, children at risk, refugees, teachers, school administration, and local authorities. Besides, it taught me skills in planning, organizing, and presenting ideas.
I have indescribable emotions because I can see the results of my efforts. My team, called "Wunderkinders," is really proud and satisfied that we had the opportunity to make a real contribution by planting trees in Dendrarium Park. I am convinced that environmental issues should concern people of all ages. Still, for the younger generation, the solution to this problem should be paramount since the future of the next generations and the security of our planet are in our hands.
"Your voice matters!" is an effective way to improve the "quality" of all my generation, as it allows the involvement of various groups of participants: ethnic minorities, refugees, youth from the south, center, and north of my country, from big cities and small villages. I was glad to meet girls and boys who speak Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, and Bulgarian. Despite our different languages, we understood each other because we have the same plan: to live in a safe and peaceful world.
Besides, "Your voice matters!" contributes to forming our active citizenship skills, participation in public life, and democratic processes. Young people are one of the most active and dynamic groups in society, and our opinions and experience can be very useful in solving many social problems. Taking into account the voices of young people when solving important social problems is necessary to create a more just and equal society, where every voice counts and matters.
“Every child and youth’s voice matter”: Tatiana (19), student and active volunteer
I had the chance to live a unique experience within the "Your voice matters!" project. Since the beginning, this project has been very attractive to me because it promotes a powerful message: every child and youth's voice matter.
I learned a lot about myself and the people around me. It also brought me many emotions experienced in a very short time, and the most exciting for me was participating in educational games. I am glad that the idea is promoted in my country and that everyone's voice matters, especially the voices of youth, because we can create a better future for all.
I'm glad I had the chance to learn more about U-Report. With its help, we can create a better, safer, and more sustainable environment for all of us because it makes youth voices and opinions be heard by the authorities. I believe that all participants came out of this experience with a learned lesson that everyone's voice matters and that we can only contribute to creating a better future through involvement and collaboration.
