Under the slogan "America and Moldova - success together", the team of the Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova project implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" together with the Partnership Fund for Transparency from the USA, presented the project during America's Day, held on May 20, 2023, in the municipality of Cahul.
For the third year, the US Embassy organized a series of outdoor public events dedicated to the cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the United States of America. The event, dedicated to the strong partnership between the Republic of Moldova and the USA, highlighted the positive impact of American assistance for the residents of the Republic of Moldova.
The start of America's Day in Cahul was given by his Excellency, the US Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Kent D. Logsdon and the Mayor of Cahul, Nicolae Dandis. "Dear friends, partners and guests. Many thanks to the Cahul authorities, whose presence demonstrates the partnership and friendship that the USA and Moldova have built over the decades. Since the independence of the Republic of Moldova, the US has invested more than 2 billion dollars in Moldova to help Moldovans build a democratic, prosperous and safe future", the US Ambassador said during the event. For his part, the mayor of Cahul thanked for the projects supported by the American people and their importance for the locality.
The Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova project aims to support reforms in the field of public procurement in Moldova, which will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens to hold the relevant institutions accountable. In this sense, America's Day in Cahul was a very good platform for the project team to communicate directly with visitors and to promote among the public the values of transparency and the integrity of purchases. Thus, during the day, the participants were informed about the objectives of the project and the results of the monitoring of public procurement by civil society, as well as other initiatives of IDIS "Viitorul" supported by the US.
"We are honored to present at America's Day in Cahul part of the products developed within the project - "Strengthening integrity in public procurement" - implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul together with the Partnership Fund for Transparency in the USA. Thus, the citizens, but also other projects and programs (USAID, IOM, U.S. Embassy Moldova, the project Institutional and Structural Reforms in Moldova, Comunitatea Mea, Promo - LEX, etc.) learned more about our actions and those of the sub-grantees (Ziarul de Garda, Lex XXI, Solidary Parents, etc.) in the field of public procurement. We are glad that the public procurement monitoring guide - a tool for civil society, the newsletters, the leaflets, the infographics from the booklets regarding the financing of education and how we contribute to better financial transparency of educational institutions, etc., have aroused an increased interest. We tried to communicate to the America Day participants about the methodology of the red flags and how citizens can monitor the efficiency of the use of public money in their locality. Also, the IDIS "Viitorul" reports developed within the project "Assessment of the status of local democracy in Moldova", with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy, were presented," said Carolina Ungureanu, Deputy director of IDIS "Viitorul" and the Project Manager.
America Days, organized this year in Chisinau, Balti and Cahul, included the exhibition of American assistance projects. Also, those present had interesting activities and thematic areas for the general public: the gastronomic area, the America Bus area, where the public had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the opportunities to learn English, the stage area where a concert took place of music performed by an American band, as well as the screening of the American film FINCH, etc.
America's Days in the Republic of Moldova are in their third edition, marking 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic and friendly relations between Moldova and the United States of America.
For more information, please contact the project's press officer, Ana-Maria Veveriță: ana.veverita@viitorul.org/veverita.maria@gmail.com or phone (0 22) 221844.
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The project "Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement" is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA). The project aims to support public procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness in public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable.
IDIS "Viitorul" is an independent think tank established in 1993 that combines social, political and economic research with strong advocacy components. The institution conducts applied monitoring research on several areas: economics, social policy, EU policies, regional development, but also security and foreign policy risks.
The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is based in Washington DC and its mission is to promote innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries. Since 2000, PTF has supported over 250 projects aimed at promoting NGO involvement in decisions, processes and laws that enforce transparency and accountability in public procurement.
