CRDC at the Eastern Partnership Youth Conference 2026: Ideas, Practices and Perspectives for Youth Work

A.O. Centrul Regional de Dezvoltare Comunitară was represented by the organization’s administrator, Bejan Irina, at the Eastern Partnership Youth Conference 2026, held in Stockholm, Sweden.

The regional event brought together more than 100 young women and men, representatives of civil society organizations, practitioners and partners from Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union, in a space dedicated to dialogue on youth participation, youth policies and the current challenges facing the youth sector across the region.

CRDC participated in the conference at the invitation of GIZ Moldova, providing an important opportunity to connect experience accumulated at local and regional level with current discussions and trends in the youth field at European level.

Youth participation, civic space and democratic resilience

The first day of the conference addressed topics directly connected to CRDC’s work: strengthening youth participation in decision-making processes, developing more relevant youth policies, protecting civic space, democratic resilience and ensuring safer civic participation in a continuously changing regional context.

Particular attention was given to the challenges posed by disinformation, hate speech and risks in the online environment, as well as to identifying mechanisms through which youth engagement can become safer, more inclusive and more meaningful.

During the working group dedicated to hate speech and disinformation, the organization’s representative shared CRDC’s experience accumulated through its media education and community journalism programmes.

The discussions focused on how the organization works with young people to develop critical thinking, the ability to analyse information and the skills needed to identify manipulative or misleading content.

CRDC’s experience in encouraging young people to become not only more responsible consumers of information, but also creators of community-based content was also presented, highlighting their ability to speak about the issues, people and initiatives in their own communities in a responsible and well-informed manner.

Participation in the working groups also provided an opportunity to learn about practices applied in other countries, compare approaches and identify ideas that could later be adapted to the realities of the Republic of Moldova.

An experience that continues CRDC’s journey within EU4Youth

For CRDC, participation in the Eastern Partnership Youth Conference 2026 also carries particular significance because of its connection to the organization’s experience within the EU4Youth programme.

With the support of GIZ Moldova, CRDC implemented the first edition of “YELI – Youth Empowerment and Leadership Initiative”, a programme that contributed to strengthening the organization’s expertise in the youth field and expanding initiatives dedicated to the civic participation of young people in southern Moldova.

Through YELI, CRDC worked directly with young people and communities, facilitated dialogue between youth and public authorities, and created spaces in which young people’s ideas and needs could be discussed and transformed into concrete initiatives.

Participation in the Stockholm conference therefore represented a natural continuation of this process of learning and organizational development.

For us, it is important that the experience accumulated in communities across southern Moldova can be connected to broader regional dialogues, and that the voices of organizations working directly with young people are present in discussions about the future of youth policies and programmes.

Fryshuset – an inspiring model for youth work

The second day of the visit to Stockholm gave participants the opportunity to discover the work of Fryshuset, one of Sweden’s well-known organizations for developing services, programmes and spaces built around the needs and potential of young people.

The visit offered a practical perspective on how an ecosystem can be built in which young people are given the trust they need to create, experiment, express themselves and participate actively in society.

For CRDC, this experience was particularly relevant from the perspective of direct work with young people and the development of spaces and programmes that begin with their real needs.

The Fryshuset model demonstrates how important it is for youth work not to begin only with activities planned for young people, but with an understanding of the interests, challenges, potential and ideas that young people themselves bring into a community.

The visit therefore offered not only answers, but also important questions about how youth services can become more flexible, accessible and better connected to young people’s realities.

Ideas and connections that return to the community

Bejan Irina’s participation in the Eastern Partnership Youth Conference 2026 gave CRDC the opportunity to contribute to an important regional dialogue, while also returning with new ideas, contacts and perspectives for the organization’s work.

Experiences of this kind are valuable because they make it possible to connect local practice with models and debates taking place at international level.

For CRDC, however, their real value emerges when the ideas and good practices identified can be analysed, adapted and transformed into solutions suited to the young people and communities we work with in the Republic of Moldova.

We thank GIZ Moldova for the invitation and for the opportunity to take part in this experience of learning, dialogue and international connection.