Four projects proposed by teams formed during the “Applied Democracy” programme, organised by the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM) this summer, have been selected for funding. The project leaders received their grant certificates recently from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Moldova and are determined to bring change in the communities where they live.

The finalists of the “Applied Democracy” programme, together with the LRCM team, had a meeting with H.E. Fred Duijn, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Moldova, to present their initiatives and activities supported by the Embassy. The four projects are the result of the experience, knowledge and inspiration gained during the summer school, which motivated the participants to put theory into practice through their own ideas and visions.

One of the projects, entitled “Fighting Misinformation = Supporting Participation”, aims to educate young people, who turn online for news, about the risks and impact of misinformation. The project team, made up of students from the State University of Moldova, will create and distribute a series of short videos on social networks, explaining how the fake news mechanism works and providing fact-checking strategies.

The project “I Am Young and I Care” aims to convince young people in Orhei municipality about the importance of participating in the elections, in the context of which the turnout rate of youth in this locality was about 7%. The author of the project aims to carry out activities to inform young people and involve them in a process of election simulation, thus encouraging them to take decisions that have an impact on them and the community they belong to.

The lack of modern ways for law school students to study and self-assess their knowledge has prompted the members of the “Law Quiz” project team to come up with an innovative solution. They will create an online platform to help young people test and expand their knowledge of law by taking a series of quizzes. The platform will be a useful tool for students, university lecturers or young professionals.

The fourth project – “Youth for Democracy” – aims to create out-of-school engagement opportunities and educational activities in the field of democracy for young people in Soroca district. Through debates and mock elections, teenagers and students will better understand what civic participation means and will be encouraged to actively engage in their role as citizens. The project team also aims to run an online campaign and award three young people’s posts about community involvement.

The young finalists of the 2024 “Applied Democracy” programme are part of the alumni network of this programme, which aims to promote genuine democracy, the rule of law and values protected by human rights. The seventh edition of the “Applied Democracy” Summer School took place on 24-28 June and was organised within the project “Supporting the efforts to advance the protection of human rights”, implemented by the LRCM with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.