The project “Empowering Citizens in the Republic of Moldova” is funded by the European Union and implemented by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the project partner for increasing the potential for visibility and engagement of citizens is the Association of Independent Press (API).

The two organizations selected are AO Nord Press Club (Bălți) and “Platforma” Centre for Policies, Initiatives and Research.

In the following months (the projects will last 3 months), the organizations will carry out specific activities aimed at:

• Informing and raising the awareness of citizens (especially in rural areas) about the advantages and challenges related to the provision of public services, energy efficiency and the environment, so that to demand actions from the public authorities;

• informing citizens about the need and importance of subscription and payments for quality public services;

• promoting good practices, positive examples, success stories and partnerships, activism and civic engagement at the local level, which have contributed to improving quality public services in the regions.

The beneficiary organizations were selected after a complex process of administrative and technical evaluation that included, at the last stage, online interviews with the representatives of each organization.

Eight projects were submitted for the idea competition, and only five passed the administrative evaluation, with the other three proposals rejected for failing to meet the mandatory requirements according to the Terms of Reference. Subsequently, the five projects were technically evaluated and only three received the minimum score required for admission to the next stage of the evaluation - documentation visits. The winning organizations were selected following the documentary visits.

The “Civil Society and Regional Media in Support of European Reforms, Sustainable Development and Citizen Participation in Strengthening Local Democracy" Project is implemented by API and aims to provide financial support, training and professional advice to civil society organizations and regional media to promote European values in the regions.