The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives "Viitorul" (IDIS) organized a training on Friday and Saturday, August 15 and 16, 2025, for representatives of civil society organizations from the Republic of Moldova acting as human rights defenders. The two days of training were structured around interactive activities, practical exercises, teamwork, discussions, and collective reflections. The activity, part of the "Strengthening Civil Society Resilience in the Republic of Moldova" project, aimed to enhance participants' project management capacities, focusing on regional issues that require solutions.
Over the two days, participants benefited from a comprehensive program that combined theoretical presentations with practical exercises. Topics focused on mutual learning between regions on human rights, religious freedom, democratic activism, and environmental protection. Another topic was how to identify target groups, with a focus on actors and communities involved in the defense and promotion of human rights; how to quantify benefits by race, gender, occupation, interests, and their specific needs in the context of local human rights challenges and organizational resilience.
Other discussions focused on identifying intervention strategies, planning activities and resources, establishing indicators, and applying the Logical Framework method. At the same time, the participants worked on mapping the actors, developing qualitative and quantitative results, as well as completing the project budget, so that the knowledge acquired could be immediately applied in practice. Innovative ways for human rights defenders and civil society organizations to bring topics related to human rights, democracy, and environmental protection to the agenda of bilateral and multilateral dialogue platforms were also addressed.
The feedback collected through the evaluation questionnaires confirms the relevance and usefulness of the training. Some participants mentioned that “such activities are beneficial for young activists, regardless of where they come from, because today it is tough to find the details of writing a project on the Internet, and because of this, some give up halfway, because they find it too difficult. Others emphasized the impact of these trainings for civil society in Moldova, stating that "such trainings are beneficial for our country, because they teach people how they can improve the environment they live in themselves", adding that thanks to these activities, "the level of social involvement will increase significantly and we will be able to build a better future together".
The participants also appreciated the professionalism of the trainers and the friendly atmosphere, stating that "the seminar was exciting and useful, with wonderful speakers", and "the development and consultation provided by experts for the phased planning of a community project was a real support for submitting viable and well-structured initiatives". They also mentioned that they had gained a better understanding of how to apply project management tools in real situations and discovered practical solutions to problems facing their region. They liked the fact that they worked on concrete case studies and were able to exchange experiences with other participants.
"Through the event organized by IDIS, civil society representatives from the right and left banks of the Nistru River have unified their efforts in the process of identifying both problems and solutions, which are related to building trust and coordinating actions regarding the defense of human rights. We are glad that young people from both banks of the Nistru River, in the context of new socio-political realities, are jointly trying to define a democratic, prosperous, and European future," said Liubomir Chiriac, executive director of IDIS "Viitorul".
"Strengthening the capacities of civil society organizations and activists, especially those defending human rights, is essential for the democratic development and resilience of our communities. We support them in understanding the stages of project development and implementation, not only to attract resources, but also to transform their ideas into real solutions for people. Such training equips them with the necessary tools to make their voices heard and to contribute to positive change in society actively," said Carolina Ungureanu, deputy director of IDIS "Viitorul".
The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" is an independent think tank established in 1993, combining social, political, and economic research with strong advocacy components. Our institution conducts applied monitoring research in several areas: economics, social policy, EU policies, regional development, and security and foreign policy risks.
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