Empowering Youth to Participate in Their Communities

It is often said that youth are the future of a nation and that communities must be involved their education at all the levels. The IATP program is no exception to this belief, and frequently contributes to activities organized for or by youth and children. Continuing this tradition, IATP Center from Tiraspol hosted the fifth anniversary meeting of young traffic inspectors in September.

The event was organized by the Management of State Traffic Inspection, Ministry of Education of Transnistria and the State administration of Tiraspol. Traditionally, this competition is conducted at the beginning of the school year with the aim of crime prevention and the prevention of traffic accidents involving children and adolescents. The young traffic inspectors are students at secondary schools in Transnistria, and work in teams to actively promote traffic rules and prevent their violation by children.

For three days, the IATP center in Tiraspol was ruled by traffic regulations. Sixteen participants from schools of Transnistria took part in the competition, including schools in Tiraspol, Bender, Ribnita, Dubasari, Grigoriopol, and Slobozia. Participants of this training will explain traffic rules to their peers and elementary school students, which should reduce road accidents in the city and across the republic. Also, all the participants received certificates and prizes.

“The young traffic inspectors” training is not IATP’s only youth-oriented event. The center administrator also helped a group of pupils from Tiraspol’s School No. 6 to prepare for the school’s talent show, which occurred in September and allowed contestants to showcase their best talents. Students of all ages and even teachers of schools and the State University of Tiraspol come to the center for professional help preparing for contests, school and university projects, and conferences.

In a country where not all youth have access to a computer or the internet, or to free information, these activities and support offered by IATP, provide opportunity and contribute to keeping children from the streets. This helps motivate them to participate in extracurricular activities, make new friends, to find a place and purpose in life and become leading models of the future nation.