National Youth Resource Center (NYRC) - Moldova

Creating and sustaining youth networks - and providing the tools those networks need - is NYRC's central strategy. The Internet is a tool for bringing young people together. NYRC manages the domain "www.youth.md", which hosts web pages of youth NGOs in Moldova. Specifically, youth NGOs have the opportunity to create their own web pages to be hosted in this domain. Based on this information, NYRC creates regional networks for young users. In addition, young users have access to an electronic database on youth legislation, youth job opportunities, trainers' and volunteers' teams, contact data of potential funding institutions, and an e-list of the sources from NYRC's library. The library includes more than 1,500 titles of materials on youth policies, guidelines for training and activities with children and youth, materials on free-time animation, children's rights, communication, counselling, and vocational decision-making.

Along these lines, NYRC also functions as a resource for other youth-friendly community centres in the region. Specifically, it elaborates curricula for training courses in several areas. NYRC also provides consultation, logistical support for providers of youth-friendly services, project management, training course preparation, database completion, and teaching material production. The information is oriented toward young people and toward professionals working with and for youth.

Youth, Rights, Networking, Participation and Capacity Building, Community Development, Political Development.

NYRC is part of a larger programme to launch youth-friendly community centres in Moldova. The Network of Youth Regional Centers, created by UNICEF in collaboration with national and local authorities and with the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands, also includes The Media Center for Children and Youth (click here for a programme description). In the next 2 years, similar centres will be created in Balti, Soroca, Ungheni, and Cahul. The main task of the centres will be to inform youth about issues of major importance for their age, with a special emphasis on high-risk groups and disadvantaged youth.