Areas, where Călărași town needs improvements in public lighting, are subject to an energy audit. The works take place within the project implemented with the EU support "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests” and aim at analyzing the situation of the existing public lighting system and identifying the areas that need expansion and modernization. Based on this assessment, energy efficiency solutions will be proposed.
The energy audit for the street lighting system represents a premiered for the town. In this respect, on 3 August, a meeting was organized at the Calarasi Town Hall to discuss the current situation of the public lighting system with a length of 48 km, the streets to be connected and the technical requirements imposed on the lighting fixtures.
According to Călărași Two Hall, two companies participated in the tender for the energy audit, and "Eco Evolutions" SRL was named the winner, presenting the most advantageous offer. "Eco Evolutions" was created in 2011 as one of the first companies to bring LED technology to European standards in the Republic of Moldova. The company is the direct importer with distribution rights of more than 500 models of indoor and outdoor LED lighting fixtures in the Republic of Moldova, it is shown on the official website of the company.
"We decided to carry out this energy audit in order to know precisely the current situation of the public lighting system and to understand how to successfully implement the public lighting works within the project," said Călărași Mayor, Nicolae Melnic.
According to the energy expert of IDIS “Viitorul”, Ion Muntean, 500 street light bulbs will be replaced and the energy efficiency project will ensure a real economy of 6500 euro/year, will allow the reduction of CO2 emissions and the cost of maintenance and operation. Currently, the electric lines in Călăraşi are more than 60 years old, and for this reason, they are very often damaged and the town remains in darkness.
According to the national legislation on energy efficiency, the energy audit is mandatory for all energy efficiency projects financed or co-financed from public money. The energy audit is needed to identify the most efficient energy saving measures and to appreciate the investment costs.
The final energy audit report and the technical implementation project for the modernization and energy efficiency measures of the public lighting system in Călărași will be ready in September of this year.
The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests” is implemented by the Călărași Town Council, the partnership with IDIS "Viitorul" and has a period of 30 months. The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Project (CoM-DeP) program. The energy efficiency project in Calarasi includes the installation of a 21-kilometer lighting network and the architectural lighting of two public buildings. As a result, the project will provide a real economy of € 6,500 per year, reduce CO2 emissions and maintenance and operating costs.
The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", implemented by the Calarasi Town Hall in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul". The project is funded by the European Union through the European programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects (CoM-DeP)”, part of the EU4Energy initiative.
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For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector. More information: www.EU4Energy.eu
Representatives of the local public administration from Călăraşi, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, members of the civil society and the regional electricity supplier met on July 18 at the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests”.
The event brought into discussions the Steering Committee’s work rules, task of the members, but also the planned activities for the coming months.
"The establishment of the Steering Committee represents a significant milestone in the implementation of our project. Community support is a determining factor in the process of monitoring the project. And through this mechanism we hope that the community's involvement in achieving the project objectives will become more dynamic and more responsible", said the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
In turn, the Coordinator of the project within the Călărași Town Hall, Cristina Smolenschi mentioned: "The Steering Committee is a working group set up by the Town Council to implement and monitor our project in a transparent way. I hope that the work of this group will become a good practice that could be applied to other projects in the community".
The Steering Committee of the project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests” is to be led by the Deputy Mayor of Călăraşi - Victor Ambroci, as chairman, the town councilor Veaceslav Arapan as Vice-Chairman of the Committee and Elena Lungu, which will provide the secretariat of the Committee. "As chairman, I will do my best to carry out this project on a qualitative and timely basis. We want the Călărași citizens to enjoy the street lighting at European standards in the near future. Only in this way will we be able to contribute to the efficiency of the public lighting system and to the saving of the financial resources", said Victor Ambroci, chairman of the Steering Committee.
Also at the meeting, the Regulation of the Steering Committee was discussed and approved. According to the regulation, a meeting is eligible if at least half of its members are present. The members, according to the document, have the right to formulate proposals to enhance the achievement of project objectives, to involve independent experts and experts who can support them in implementing the project and to interact with civil society in order to increase the transparency of project activities.
During the meeting, the participants appreciated the good cooperation between all stakeholders and expressed their confidence that the established dialogue and the timely implementation of all the activities foreseen create the necessary premises for the successful implementation of the project.
The Steering Committee has the mission to ensure the qualitative achievement of the project's activities, to coordinate its implementation and monitoring, and to propose solutions to the problems identified in the implementation process.
The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests” is implemented by the Călărași Town Council, partnership with IDIS "Viitorul" and has a period of 30 months. The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Project (CoM-DeP) program. The energy efficiency project in Calarasi includes the installation of a 21-kilometer lighting network and the architectural lighting of two public buildings. As a result, the project will provide a real economy of € 6,500 per year, reduce CO2 emissions and maintenance and operating costs.
The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", implemented by the Calarasi Town Hall in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul". The project is funded by the European Union through the European programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects (CoM-DeP)”, part of the EU4Energy initiative.
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For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector. More information: www.EU4Energy.eu
IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Council of Europe, launches the 2016-2017 edition of the Best Practices Programme in Local Public Administration in Moldova. The aim of this program is to identify and disseminate innovative and efficient initiatives from the local public administration in the Republic of Moldova and to make known the experience and outstanding results of the local public authorities and institutions in the country.
The sections of the best practices competition for the current edition are:
The best practices competition involves three stages, namely: registration/best practices submission, evaluation of the submitted projects, nomination and awarding of the winners.
To participate, local practice must be implemented between June 2016 and December 2017. Best practices will be evaluated on the basis of the EVALUATION GRID
The deadline for participation at the Best Practices Programme (the 2016-2017 edition) is 25 JUNE.
Thus, the local public administration authorities will send the completed PARTICIPATION FORM to the following addresses: Chisinau, MD-2005, Str. Iacob Hincu 10/1, IDIS "Viitorul" for the "Best Practices Programme" or programul.bunelepractici@gmail.com with the mention "Best Practices Programme".
In the national competition cannot participate best local practice projects that have been awarded in previous editions of the programme or project ideas that have not yet been implemented. Practices that have been successfully implemented before participating in the competition are also accepted.
For more information, please see (in Romanian) the Best Practices Programme Informative Prospectus.
Best practices will be awarded at a National Award Ceremony to be held in December a.c and will be disseminated through an Anthology of Best Practices and the documentary “Together for performances in local governance”.
The Best Practices Programme of Local Authorities in Moldova is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", with the financial support of the Council of Europe. The Programme aims at identifying, promoting and disseminating good practices among local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova, thus contributing to the efficiency of local governance.
For more details, contact Program Coordinator Ana - Maria Veverita at 0 22 221844 or programul.bunelepractici@gmail.com
Decentralization, local democracy and the situation of local self-government are areas of discontinuity in the Republic of Moldova that hinder the reform process required by the country's development partners.
Local authorities argue that centralist government and the neglect of local autonomy represent an older legacy of the Soviet type, but especially in comparison with the EU-supported standards for good governance, it is becoming increasingly clear how large the discrepancies exist in terms of access to justice, social services, and economic development as cumulative effects of delays in decentralization reforms. The observation belongs to the team of authors representing CALM, V.Furdui, V.Russu, who today presented at the IDIS headquarters a monitoring report "Situation of local democracy and the degree of implementation of policy documents in the field of decentralization".
Director of IDIS Viitorul, Igor Munteanu said in his speech: "Reform of decentralization should not be considered a secondary reform, compared to other reforms in the central administration sector. It would be a strategic mistake. It is at least equal to public sector reform as a message to local authorities and consistency with local autonomy as a pillar of participatory democracy. The report presented today by CALM notes that the overwhelming majority of Moldova's obligations in the field of local democracy, included in the Road Map on the implementation of Recommendation 322, under the responsibility of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, Council of Europe and CALM of 8 July 2016, have not been met. This reality clearly explains why citizens do not see real progress in terms of the financial status of their localities, the quality of services is desirable, and government control has traditionally become a tool of political punishment. The Republic of Moldova needs functional institutions of the local public administration, not pro-reform reforms, of which only the central bureaucracy and opportunity-winners can benefit. This report provides answers to the big problems of decentralization and shows how useful CALM can be for the reform tasks".
The authors of the study specifically reject any allegations that they are opponents of the administrative-territorial reform, noting that the lessons of previous reforms need to be learned, that public consensus must be created, and that the right of citizens to express themselves on the options of territorial-administrative recalibration, and not to be faced with the accomplished fact, with some amalgamation decided by somebody else. The authors are convinced that "together we can succeed" and that there are sufficient capacities and ideas useful for local authorities that can be useful to the concept and vision of local reform. This includes: (1) The complex establishment and analysis of the causes of the worsening of the situation in the field of local democracy, (2) the creation of an adequate and effective institutional framework at all levels of the state power in the Republic of Moldova in order to correlate and implement the LPA policies / commitments , (3) decentralization and consolidation of local autonomy and revision of the legal framework in the criminal field, grounds for criminal prosecution and (4) monitoring of cases of disproportionate / abusive application of preventive measures (arrest) by judicial bodies in relation to LPA .
The situation of local democracy and decentralization is, according to the author of the report, Viorel Furdui, CALM Director, together with justice, human rights and media freedom, a vital area of democratic power. Only neglecting the constitutional principle of local autonomy and eligibility has led to the accumulated arrears in relation to the Council of Europe, which can reduce any other successful reforms.
The study was conducted by CALM in collaboration with IDIS Viitorul and appeared with the support of the East European Foundation, from the resources provided by the Swedish Government, in a public policy monitoring project by independent civil society experts.
The report can be downloaded ahere.
For more details, you can contact us at the IDIS headquarters or by contacting the IDIS Viitorul Press Officer, Victor Ursu (tel.069017396 or ursu.victoor@gmail.com).
The project to improve public lighting in Calarasi was officially launched on March 26, along with two other initiatives supported by the EU "Covenant of Mayors - Demonstration Projects" programme, at a public conference. The event was attended by representatives of the EU Delegation to Moldova, local public authorities and civil society.
“The development of renewable sources of energy is one of the key aspects of sustainable economic development and the EU is confident that the municipalities play a key role in this process. The EU launched the call for proposals to help the municipalities signatories of the Covenant of Mayors reduce the gap between Sustainable Energy Action Plans and their practical implementation to bring direct and tangible benefits to citizens. Through these projects, the European Union will work with local authorities to ensure a better life for Moldovan citizens”, underlined Peter Michalko, EU Ambassador to Moldova.
Thus, with the European support, Calarasi will improve its street lighting and make it more energy efficient. Four schools and kindergartens in the town of Cantemir will be thermally insulated and retrofitted, in order to ensure savings on heating costs and more comfortable conditions for children. Meanwhile, solar panels and biomass heating systems will be installed in Festelita (Stefan-Voda rayon).
"We are grateful for the European Union support to implement this project. It is the first project when the money comes before the implementation of the works, and that makes us responsible for being efficient and building the trust of the European partners. This project is beneficial for the 16 500 inhabitants and 490 economic agents, as well as for the citizens of the region and the tourists who visit our town”, believes Nicolae Melnic, Mayor of Calarasi.
In turn, the Project Manager from IDIS "Viitorul", Liubomir Chiriac stated: “We greatly hope that the results achieved in the project will increase citizens' confidence in the local government. And, respectively, increasing the quality of public services at the local level will convince young people to remain in the community to develop their ideas".
The energy efficiency project in Calarasi includes the installation of a 21 kilometer lighting network and the architectural lighting of two public buildings. As a result, the project will provide a real economy of € 6,500 per year, reduce CO2 emissions and maintenance and operating costs.
The project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi-Firefly in the heart of forests", implemented by the Calarasi Town Hall in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul". The project is funded by the European Union through the European programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects (CoM-DeP)”, part of the EU4Energy initiative.
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For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector. More information: www.EU4Energy.eu
Soroca rayon Council will collaborate with the State administration of the Yampil rayon (Ukraine) through a Moldovan-Ukrainian cooperation programme, in order to carry out joint actions to capitalize on the tourism potential. In this respect, the team of the project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol", implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", organized on 15 and 16 March the workshop "Development of the Moldovan-Ukrainian rural tourism development programme in the cross-border region Soroca-Yampil". The event was attended by representatives of the local administration and tourist services providers from those two rayons.
"The exploitation of local resources is an essential step for the economic development of Soroca and Yampil rayons. These regions can benefit from a common opportunity to capitalize on their tourism potential and increase their living standards by promoting their natural, human and cultural heritage. Thus, the Moldovan-Ukrainian rural tourism development programme in the cross-border region will contribute to the improvement of the public services, will generate new jobs and will attract additional financial resources", said the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
The Moldovan-Ukrainian rural tourism development programme in the Soroca-Yampil region aims to coordinate the tourism policies of both rayons and to strengthen the capacities of tourism authorities and providers through cross-border cooperation. This will be achieved through a series of joint actions aimed at capitalizing and promoting the tourism potential.
Both the Soroca rayon and the Yampil rayon are territorial administrative units with significant tourist potential, a rich historical heritage, as well as a special interest in the development and promotion of tourism and culture. Thus, the Soroca rayon is famous for the Soroca Fortress and the Rudi and Cosauti localities, where popular craftsmen are known for their works made of stone. And the Yampil region, on the other hand, boasts its natural monuments, unique architectural buildings and cultural and historical reservations.
"The development of the tourism sector in both the Soroca and Yampil rayon is currently uneven and this joint program will strengthen the cooperation we have with the Nistru authorities and will contribute to the protection, development and valorisation of the natural and cultural heritage with which our regions are pride of", mentioned Stela Zabrian, Secretary of the Soroca rayon council.
"Given the similarities of our rayons and the existence of cultural and economic cooperation initiatives, I consider it opportune and necessary to draw up an action plan that will support the authorities and economic agents in promoting tourism services and objectives", believes Liudmila Maiorova, First Deputy Prime-President of the Iampil State Administration.
This cross-border tourism co-operation program envisages the initiation and development of tourism partnership, starting from the fact that both rayons have cultural and reference institutions, historical monuments, and there is a major interest in rural tourism and entrepreneurship.
"Our locality has a rich tourist potential and we have visitors who visit the Monastery of Cosauti, Granite and Gravel Quarry or the Stones Workshops. And considering that Soroca is a cultural center and Yampil has also interesting tourist attractions, it would be nice to have such a program set up to give tourists opportunities to visit our localities", says Aurica Usatiuc, director of the History and EEthnography Museum from the village of Cosauti.
"In our region, we have many tourist attractions that we can pride, which, unfortunately, few people know. And with the help of this project, we hope to succeed in highlighting what we have most beautiful. Also, many inhabitants of Yampil would be delighted to visit the objectives from the Soroca rayon, and vice versa, especially if a bridge was built over the Dniester", says Elena Greceniuc from the State Committee of the Radio and Television Section of Yampil.
And Emilia Lupascu, director of the Cultural House in Rudi believes that rural tourism could develop due to a good infrastructure: "It is difficult to reach the objectives in the village of Rudi, such as" The Turkish Plate "or" The Cave of the Remnants”. And for this reason, the infrastructure for access to these destinations should be improved first. In this way, we will attract tourists from all over the world”.
The project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol" is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration (Ukraine). The project is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the Moldova-Ukraine Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme (EaPTC).
For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
Around 17,000 inhabitants of Calarasi will benefit from street lighting. The length of the street lighting network will be 21 kilometers and will provide a 35% reduction in annual energy consumption. The project, launched today in Calarasi, is implemented by local authorities, in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul", with the financial support of the European Union (EU).
The project aims to improve the public lighting system in Calarasi and to strengthen the capacities of local public authorities to increase energy efficiency by implementing measures to increase energy efficiency at the local level.
The energy efficiency project aims to make the public lighting system in Calarasi more efficient and to strengthen the capacities of local public authorities to increase energy efficiency.
"I want to congratulate the municipality of Calarasi, which, in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul", have managed to obtain a grant from the EU for this energy efficiency project. This grant is recognition of the quality of the project and the good reputation of Calarasi, which fights for energy efficiency. Hope that the project will benefit both the country, the municipality of Calarasi and, most importantly for any EU funded actions, for the citizens of the town, declared Alexandre Darras, Project Manager, EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.
In turn, the executive director of IDIS "Viitorul", stated: “We have worked side by side for six months with the Calarasi Town Hall to succeed in a competition launched by the European Commission on sustainable urban development. Although the competition was a tough one, we were able to get this European support together. I hope the project will have a positive impact on the quality of life of Calarasi citizens, diminish migration and develop the local economy".
"We want to succeed in rehabilitating and improving the street and road public lighting system in Calarasi to help increase the safety and comfort of the citizens at night. Representatives of the local public authorities in Calarasi rayon will find more about the energy efficiency, will be trained and will also exchange experience in the field of urban revitalization", states the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
"We are glad that, as a signatory locality of the Covenant of Mayors for climate and energy, we have found support from the European Union to implement this far-reaching project. Respectively, our town will be enlightened, residents will move safely at night and consequently, we will reduce CO2 consumption and the number of crimes. Only through such projects municipalities from Moldova will get closer to European cities", believes Nicolae Melnic, Mayor of Calarasi.
The energy efficiency project will also include the installation of architectural lighting for two public institutions in Calarasi, the organization of the "Energy Day", drawing contests for pupils, training for specialists in the field, the development of a national forum on investment opportunities in energy efficiency, etc. In the long term, a sustainable energy management system will be implemented within the project, and the level of safety and comfort for citizens and visitors will increase significantly.
In this respect, for Mariana Iurcu, a museographer at the History and Ethnography Museum in Calarasi it was a surprise to find out at that the institution where she works will be artistically illuminated: "Recently, the museum was renovated and included in the national tourist route, which what is an innovation for Calarasi. And the illumination of the facade of our building, which is architecturally attractive, will provide a beautiful and colorful look. At the same time, citizens and tourists will know more about us, and the institution will become more visible".
According to the energy expert of IDIS “Viitorul”, Ion Muntean, 500 street light bulbs will be replaced and the energy efficiency project will ensure a real economy of 6 500 euro/year, will allow the reduction of CO2 emissions and the cost of maintenance and operation.
The launching conference took place within the project "Efficient public lighting in Calarasi", implemented by the Calarasi Town Hall in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul". The project is funded by the European Union through the Regional Programme in the Eastern Neighbourhood in support of the Eastern Partnership Flagship Initiative on Sustainable Municipal Development.
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The EU4Energy Initiative covers all EU support to improve energy supply, security and connectivity, as well as to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables in the Eastern Partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It does this by financing projects and programmes that help to reform energy markets and to reduce national energy dependence and consumption. Over the longer term, this makes energy supply more reliable, transparent and affordable, thus reducing energy poverty and energy bills for both citizens and the private sector.
More information: www.EU4Energy.eu
For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844
The capacities of rural tourism and the cross-border cooperation will be strengthened within the framework of the EU-supported project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol". The project was launched on February 14 in Iampol (Iampil district), the Vinitskaya region of Ukraine, after being presented at Soroca on January 31st.
The aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of tourism service providers and local authorities in the Soroca and Yampil rayons to develop and promote rural tourism through cross-border cooperation.
The project is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration. It is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of Moldova – Ukraine cross-border cooperation Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme. The overall contribution of the European Union to the implementation of the EaPTC program is 12.5 million euro, out of which 3.3 million euros are intended for the Republic of Moldova - Ukraine Programme.
"Both the Iampil and the Soroca rayon have a great potential for natural, cultural and historical resources, accessible to rural tourism development. The project will help unite the efforts of local government at cross-border level, which, in partnership with private sector initiatives, will be able to turn rural tourism into an efficient economic development mechanism at regional level. Also, there are several activities planned in the project which will increase the visibility of this cross-border region and will eventually contribute to the increase of the number of tourists", declared the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
"The tourist potential of our region is a valuable and enormous one. We pride ourselves on small but beautiful villages, where tourists can visit ethnographic museums, can enjoy homemade wine or rest in the guesthouses of Busha and Tzechinovca. If all the inhabitants of Soroca come to us to buy traditional bacon, and we pass the Dniester after Moldovan quality products, it would be a pity not to take advantage of this cross-border connection", considers Ludmila Maiorova, First Deputy Prime-President of the Iampil State Administration.
In this context, the representatives of cultural institutions from the Ukrainian region attending the launching conference support the initiative of the local public authorities to promote the tourism potential. Thus, according to Ludmila Racinovscaia, the Mayor of Tzechinovca village, several inhabitants of the village of Tzechinovca provide services in the rural tourism sector, and the banks of the Nistru river have permanent tourists from the towns of Kiev, Vinnitsa or Peterburg. "If we solve all issues related to logistics and efficient promotion of our village, we could attract tourists from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and other countries", says Ludmila Racinovscaia.
"Our village has special traditions in the preservation and valorization of folk crafts, and the sale of craft products brings additional income to the inhabitants. By developing tourism, we could offer foreign tourists traditional craftsmanship specific to our area at affordable prices, thus promoting the cultural values of the Ukrainian people", says Maria Marcenco, a popular craftsman from Oxanievca village.
And Mihail Grinciuc, director of the History and Ethnography Museum in Iampol, says "The economic situation of the inhabitants of the villages of Iampil is very complicated. Reforms that have been implemented in the field of agriculture have not brought economic stability to our villages. On the contrary, the villagers make it harder. But the tourist and natural attractions combined with the traditions of Ukrainian gastronomy can become an important tourist product for this area".
The cross-border project includes a series of training sessions, study visits to boarding houses, a guide for tour operators, the support for four festivals, a tourist map, and even a documentary film to highlight the tourist heritage of the Soroca and Yampil rayons. The infrastructure of some public cultural institutions will also be improved, and 30 tourist boarding houses and representatives of local authorities in both regions will strengthen their tourism marketing capabilities.
The project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol" is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration (Ukraine). The project is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the Moldova-Ukraine Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme (EaPTC).
For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
Three successful policy measures were selected and evaluated recently by a Group of Evaluators at the special invitation of IDIS Viitorul, assessing their degree of acceptability and relevance to the scope of local self-government bodies and elements of the local sustainability and appreciation.
Measured policy initiatives have been identified in several regions and cities of the country, based on criteria and trademarks corresponding to the international best practices: they are innovative, rare, notable and significant for the local economic and social development, having the potential to be replicated in other localities as well. Eight experts of the Evaluation Council pursued the task to assess their individual merits from a large number of local policy actions, decisions on infrastructure development plans, privatization decisions, strategy papers, policy concepts, proposed or adopted, measures for the recovery and optimization of some services, all done within the limits the competences recognized by legislation for local authorities of Level I and II.
The scores were calculated on the basis of the average value obtained from the quality of the measure (policy) multiplied by the coefficient 2.08, which expresses the mean value of the indicator for the local social-economic development. The first six places were according to the scores evaluated: Drochia (85.4%), Zaim (81.2%), Ruseştii Noi (79,%), Carpineni (77.0%), Tătărăuca Veche (75%) and Cimislia (73.0%).
The evaluators noted the creation of a field tennis court in Zagarancea (Ungheni), an innovative practice created by attracting external resources, but with diffuse benefits to the community and dubious feasibility.
In Zaim Community (Causeni), local authorities in cooperation with their large private sector, convened to hold an annual Festival dedicated to the Tree-Cultivation, this being an excellent opportunity for the promotion of the Community brand as a premier fruit growing entity, one of the largest in Moldova, reflecting its outstanding importance for the wellbeing of the community members and the incomes generated by the plantations for the entire region of the Southern Moldova.
Another positive practice was identified with Tătărăuca Veche (Soroca), which managed to replace and install an entirely new grid of street lighening, generating important savings in electricity consumption and a much better organized service. However, evaluators found some discrepancies between the recovery estimates and the tariff set up for fees covered by the population, which may afect the sustainability of the project with local resources.
In Drochia, the project "Responsible for the environment in which we live", aimed at collecting household waste, was implemented, as it was found that sub-financing of the local service could affect its sustainability. In Chirileni (Ungheni), the City Hall built a modern communal sewerage system and a new sewage treatment plant, although some evaluators had reservations about the cost recovery model using a 15 lei water service tariff and sewerage.
The evaluation also revealed the success of Edinet City Hall to set up a new industrial park, a major project that can significantly boost the local economy and the industries that bring more resources into the city's local budget.
You can view the full list of the best and worst local policies here.
The analysis was carried out by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Institute for Economic and Social Reform in Slovakia (INEKO), with the financial support of SlovakAid's Official Development Assistance Program and the US Embassy in the Republic of Moldova.
The capacities of tourism service providers and public authorities in Soroca (Republic of Moldova) and Yampil (Ukraine) will be strengthened within a cross-border project. Thus, the project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol", implemented with the financial support of the European Union, was launched today, January 31st, in the Soroca municipality.
The project is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration. It is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of Moldova – Ukraine cross-border cooperation Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme. The aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of tourism service providers and local authorities in the Soroca and Yampil rayons to develop and promote rural tourism through cross-border cooperation.
"Moldova's rural tourism needs a new approach, to bring benefits and to become attractive. Therefore, this cross-border initiative will provide an impetus for tourism entrepreneurship and will make it possible to exchange best practices in the field to be implemented by the authorities in the Soroca and Iampil rayons, which will visibly improve their image", said the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
"Soroca is a beautiful tourist region, and for this reason, it is necessary to promote this sector so that the fame of the Soroca rayon to be taken further away from its borders. The raion administration together with the local authorities and communities will make the effort necessary for the project to have continuity", said Ghenadie Muntean, president of the Soroca rayon.
"Through this project, we want to demonstrate to the authorities that we have the same culture, the same traditions, the same history that deserves to be written on. We have in our rayon many communities with beautiful traditions, which are visited by the inhabitants of the towns in order to see and feel the history alive", stressed the president of the state administration of the Yampil rayon, Mihail Vdovtov.
According to Catalina Arghir, the representative of the Technical Secretariat for Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation (EaPTC), the cross-border project is part of the Moldova – Territorial Cooperation Support Programme, along with 15 other initiatives. The overall contribution of the European Union to the implementation of the EaPTC program is 12.5 million euro, out of which 3.3 million euro are intended for the Republic of Moldova - Ukraine Programme.
In turn, the Director of the Tourism Agency of Moldova, Stanislav Rusu, who attended the event, argued the importance of tourism for regional development: "Tourism is an economic activity that brings wealth to the population, can stop migration and generate jobs, especially in rural zone. I am glad that tourism at the level of local authorities has begun to be perceived as an activity promoting national authenticity. I assure you that our institution will give you all the necessary support for this cross-border project to bring effective results for the country". According to the official, the Republic of Moldova ranks fifth in the world as a percentage increase in the number of tourists visiting our country.
The cross-border project includes a series of training sessions, study visits to boarding houses, a guide for tour operators, support for four festivals, a tourist map, and even a documentary film to highlight the tourist heritage of the Soroca and Yampil rayons. The infrastructure of some public cultural institutions will also be improved, and 30 tourist boarding houses and representatives of local authorities in both regions will strengthen their tourism marketing capabilities.
In this context, the representatives of cultural institutions from Soroca rayon present at the launching conference, support the initiative of the local public authorities to promote the tourism potential.
"I'm glad this project was launched, because it's a premiere for the rayon. The community from Vadeni village can contribute to the development of tourism with the old school offered by the local administration to create a museum of history and ethnography and two peasant farms that we can arrange as centers of handicraft", believes Simion Lungu, director of the Cultural House from Vadeni, the Soroca rayon.
And Cristina Ursachi, who is an artistic director in the village of Solcani, believes that rural traditions can become an attraction for tourists. "We can enthuse the tourists with our authentic seating, we have an old wooden church renovated for more than 100 years, we have a museum where we serve guests traditional dishes and we can certainly find other beautiful places that would attract tourists".
The project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol" is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration (Ukraine). The project is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the Moldova-Ukraine Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme (EaPTC).
For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
