STUDEM
Step Up for Democracy
Long-term Project in Balti, Moldova
Concept and vision of the partnership
The STUDEM project began in 2016 when the Danish-Moldovan partnership group
started collaborating on initiatives with the overall aim of strengthening Moldovan
youth engagement in democracy and decision-making structures through active
participation, empowerment, and ensuring youth understand their rights.
The project aims to develop a forum for young people to express their opinions and learn about democratic practices and processes. This strategy of process-learning trains young people democratic principles based on dialogue, accountability, and cooperation. The entire project takes a broad focus on voluntarism, equality, inclusivity and transparency, in order to create a lasting democratic perception amongst the participants.
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Milestones of the partnership
The partnership started cooperating with 10 schools in Balti, Moldova’s second-largest city, to strengthen and introduce student councils through a democratic electoral process.
STUDEM opened as a youth-led center in Balti, entirely managed by a board of 11 democratically chosen young people between the ages of 12 and 25. The Youth Center oversees student council elections at local schools, a grant program to fund local youth initiatives, offers a free space for hosting youth activities,
and oversees a variety of clubs, including a young political school, a media club, a social club, etc.
STUDEM was officially registered as an NGO in Moldova, working towards the same overall goals of the partnership. Thereby, Silba and STUDEM partner directly on projects in Moldova. Silba and STUDEM also partnered with four youth organizations from
different regions of the country that sought to implement some of the same principles and frameworks that STUDEM were using.
Silba and STUDEM were invited by the Moldovan Ministry of Education to assist in developing updated guidelines and regulations for student councils on the national level in Moldova. These were successfully drafted, approved, and implemented.
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Partnership Collaboration
The daily operation of the partnership project is managed by a Silba project group and coordinators from the STUDEM organization. Both organizations share responsibility for planning, implementing, and monitoring all partnership projects to ensure that the project remains a joint venture, but also as a goal in itself to increase the cultural exchange between Moldovan and Danish participants to learn from each other.