Local Dialogue in Soroca on Interethnic Relations and Social Cohesion in the Republic of Moldova
On 1 November 2018, the first out of two local dialogues on Interethnic Relations and Social Cohesion in the Republic of Moldova of the CIVID-project took place in Soroca, in the northern part of Moldova near the border to Ukraine. More than 50 representatives of youth civil society organizations, teachers and civic activists discussed in a world café format challenges that representatives of ethnic communities are facing in their daily lives. The discussions were structured into four thematic sectors 1. Media, 2. Economic development, 3. Social policy as well as 4. the EU association agreement and were facilitated by local experts stemming from different regions of Moldova. The aim of this bottom-up activity was to work on concrete recommendations and solutions for improving the lives of the citizens of the Soroca region and foster the integration of ethnic communities in this part of the country. Among these recommendations were the following:
- Ethnic diversity should be used as a tool for economic growth. The participants supported the idea of developing the Soroca tourist brand and the multiculturalism in the region as an attractive part of it.
- The lack of communication between different ethnic communities was identified as major social problem. In order to overcome these impediments, the participants proposed the development of interethnic social programs e.g. a “Meet your neighbor-Day”, which would allow the institutionalization of an interethnic dialogue on the local level.
- The EU-Moldova Association Agreement could further strengthen the society in Moldova, especially with regard to its provisions on the protection of human rights and the rule of law.
- Media education course in schools should be promoted, since it is the media that creates perceptions and the foundation for peaceful interethnic relations.
The dialogue is part of the project “Promoting civil society and inter-ethnic dialogue in the Republic of Moldova in the context of the EU association process (CIVID)“ that the Institut für Europäische Politik is implementing in partnership with the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) and the Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS). The project is kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.
For more information on the CIVID project click here (LINK) http://iep-berlin.de/en/training/capacity-development/current-projects/civid/
For the press release of our local partner IPRE: http://ipre.md/2018/11/05/dialoguri-interetnice-in-soroca-probleme-si-solutii-in-consolidarea-societatii/?lang=en
