YELI Caravan: Young People from the South Learn What Advocacy Means

During March–April 2026, A.O. Centrul Regional de Dezvoltare Comunitară carried out the YELI Advocacy Training Caravan, reaching five localities in the south of the Republic of Moldova: Cahul, Cantemir, Leova, Taraclia and Ceadîr-Lunga.

The activities were designed as practical and participatory sessions, where young people discussed civic engagement, advocacy, community participation and dialogue with authorities. It was not only about sharing theoretical information, but about creating a space where young people could understand how to identify a local problem, how to build a clear message and how to request solutions in an organized and well-argued manner.

In total, more than 100 young people took part in the sessions organized within the caravan. They were encouraged to look more closely at the communities they belong to and to identify the issues that directly affect their daily lives: the lack of youth spaces, the need for educational and recreational activities, limited access to opportunities, or the insufficient involvement of young people in local decision-making processes.

The YELI Caravan provided participants with simple but important tools: stakeholder analysis, objective setting, advocacy message development and the identification of concrete action steps. Through group exercises and open discussions, young people understood that advocacy does not mean only asking for something, but also building an argument, finding allies and proposing realistic solutions for the community.

This first stage of the project laid the foundation for a broader process in which young people did not remain only participants in training sessions, but became members of initiative groups, ready to turn the ideas discussed into concrete actions.

The activity was organized by Centrul Regional de Dezvoltare Comunitară within the project “The New Democracy Fund Moldova Extension 2025–2026”, implemented by the National Youth Council of Moldova, in partnership with DUF – Dansk Ungdoms Fællesråd (the Danish Youth Council), with the financial support of the New Democracy Fund.