Creating learning communities – a prerequisite for rural development in the southern region of Moldova

In the southern region of Molodva there are various state institutions and non-governmental organizations that provide educational services for adults. These services are poorly mediated and known to final beneficiaries, they are not systematic, most often miss curricula and the quality of trainings is questionable. At the same time, there are no models of Community Centers for Adult Education, which meet all modern rigors and which constitute incentives to other institutions that provide services in adult education.

To address the above issues, the NGO Contact-Cahul with the support of DVV International Moldova launched a project that aims to improve access to education for adults in rural areas by setting up six Community Centers for Adult Education in the south of Moldova. Through this project, six institutions, mainly from rural areas, will be supported in preparing and launching quality services for adults.

Community Centers for Adult Education will be created by public libraries, cultural centers and NGOs, which will be selected on a competitive basis. The centers will be supported through capacity building trainings and creation of adequite environment for provision of educational services to adults. Their activities will be implemented through collaboration with local authorities. For a better understanding of the functioning of such a center, a study visit to Romania will be organized, the experiences and practices of which will be publicized and replicated by partner organizations. The project will ensure a wide promotion of the concept of adult education and public awareness will be ensured by each institution/organization at the local level. The most valuable experiences and national practices of DVV International Moldova partners will be promoted in the region, thus creating conditions for their implementation in the south of the country.

Certainly, human capital is an important element in the development potential of a locality, region or a country. Many studies claim that the quality of education in rural areas is lower than in urban areas. Therefore, awareness of the rural population and increasing participation in adult learning, especially on basic and professional skills can contribute greatly to a balanced economic and social development, both locally and nationally.