The Youth Civic Engagement and Dialogue Program [5] kicked off its closing workshop today in Bucharest, Romania with over 100 Roma and non-Roma participants from Romania and Moldova celebrating two years of youth-led community development projects. These youth have become active citizens, who mobilize their peers to build tolerance across ethnic divisions through their community initiatives.
In attendance was Matthew Werner, the Acting Chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy in Romania, who remarked to participants, “You are the heart of this program as you represent the future leaders of Romania and Moldova. Through your collaborative efforts to make a meaningful impact on your communities while breaking down cultural barriers and embracing diversity, you have moved the fight against discrimination and for universal human rights forward."
Youth from 19 communities had the opportunity to present the impacts of their projects to guests, including the Ambassador of Macedonia, the Ambassador of the Netherlands, the former Romanian Ambassador to the U.S., and various representatives from the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Department of Inter-ethnic Relations. This event highlights the importance of youth in changing the dialogue around tolerance through engaging in their communities together.
Throughout the past two years, IREX and Romani CRISS, the implementing partner in Romania, have witnessed what youth can accomplish when seen as resources in their communities and given an opportunity to build bridges between their differences through collaborative projects.
YCED [5]is a program of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor [6] of the U.S. Department of State. YCED is implemented by IREX in partnership with Romani CRISS [7], an NGO that works to defend and promote the rights of Roma throughout Romania.