ASSOCIATION FOR STUDENT AND YOUTH INITIATIVES’ SUPPORT ASIST
Address: 5/1 Deleanu str., of. 99, MD-2071, Chisinau, Moldova
Tel/fax: + 373 22 516317
E-mail: asist.moldova@gmail.com
General background
Association for Student and Youth Initiatives’ Support ASIST is a non-governmental youth organization registered on February 23, 2006. The mission of ASIST is to encourage civic education and civic student involvement in local, national and regional projects for strengthening civil society in Republic of Moldova. The main goals of the Association are to help develop the community of students and youth from Republic of Moldova by assisting students in developing projects, enhancing critical thinking, encouraging student participation, providing consultancy to students and student organizations, linking students with NGOs, creating networks and constructive dialogue platforms. Also, we strive to share the values of an open and democratic society, to develop civic activism and encourage civil participation, to have an input to the system of education and encourage active citizenship.
The Association for Student and Youth Initiatives’ Support „ASIST“ is composed of a team of young and active graduate and undergraduate students who are actively involved in providing consultancy and assistance to student organizations and unions in Moldovan universities in their daily student activities.
Experience
ASIST’s regular activities consist of organizing public debates on relevant issues for students; meetings with different institutions and NGOs working in Moldova; realization of yearly NGO Fair within the Faculty of International Relations, Political and Administrative Sciences of the Moldova State University, facilitating discussions between university administration and student organizations, providing trainings for student organization on project writing and project management, as well as fundraising. Thus, ASIST’s main activities are oriented towards the work with students and youth. Its geographical reach covers students from all major universities in Chisinau.
Activities
Title: „Building Bridges between Universities and Civil Society”
Period of implementation: February – May 2006
Project description: A series of guest speakers meetings have been organized with the representatives of various national and international organizations giving thus the possibility to students to find placement in a state internship or volunteering for final year students of the Faculty of International Relations, Political and Administrative Sciences at Moldova State University. The project ended with the organization of an NGO Market at the same Faculty where as a result over 50 students managed to find internship or volunteering placement.
Donor: Open Society Institute
Title: „Projecting documentaries to students”
Period of implementation: February – June 2006
Project description: Students at Moldova State University had the possibility to watch documentary movies very necessary for understanding various events taken place on the international arena in the recent decades. The Faculty is weakly outfitted with video materials and equipment thus having no possibility to include this practical element in its educational curriculum. By implementing this project, we managed to bring closer to students the international reality.
Title: „Academic integrity and Us”
Period of implementation: September 2006 – May 2007
Project description: The purpose of this project was the promotion of the concept of Academic Integrity in Moldovan Universities by implementing Codes of Honors in two higher-education institutions. During the project an informational campaign was organized among the students and lecturers. Also, a range of roundtable seminars and public presentations were organized. The achievement of the project was the elaboration and the approval of Honor Code in two higher-education institution. Moreover it was elaborated, published and distributed a Guide of Academic Integrity and realized 3 radio shows in the related topic. The project has been implemented in partnership with the Moldovan-American Center for Private Initiative.
Donor: Democracy Commission Small Grants Program of U.S. Embassy Moldova
Title: „European Dialogues”
Period of implementation: 2006
Project description: During the project a series of roundtables and debates regarding topics of European integration, and evolution of Moldovan foreign policy were organized. Students and professors of higher-education institutions of Moldova participated in the project by attending the meetings. During the discussions the participants had the possibility to better understand the political processes Republic of Moldova passed through. The project ended with a publication of a Guide of European Integration which was distributed among students. The project has been implemented in partnership with the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”.
Donor: Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Title: „Global Village Festival 2006”
Period of implementation: July 2006
Project description: The purpose of this project was encouraging and supporting youth from Moldova to participate in activities related to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The function of ASIST in this project was to select and to organize the visit trip for 10 youngsters between 16-20 years old. During the Global Village Festival which was organized in Great Britain the Moldovan youth had the possibility to meet youngsters from all over the world and to participate in a range of cultural events. The project has been implemented in partnership with the International Falcon Movement.
Donor: International Falcon Movement (IFM-SEI)
Title: “Practical experience - one step forward”
Period of implementation: December 2007 – August 2008
Project description: The project aims at enhancing students’ professional skills from the Academy of Economic Sciences from Moldova (ASEM) through accessible career-related practical experience. The project foresees the creation of a database with information about institutions offering internships in various fields for students of ASEM. These institutions can be national and international companies, enterprises, organizations, banks, law firms, etc. The information will be collected and then placed in the database on a website easily accessible by students and institutions interested to place their offers. Further on, the database will be such created, that it will be self-sustainable: interested institutions will have the opportunity to place independently information about them and internships they offer.
Donors: Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest, OSCE Mission in Moldova, Center for Transparency and Democracy