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SYNERGY partners met in Moldova for the kick-off meeting
Between February 3-4, the partners of the SYNERGY project met in Chișinău, Moldova, for the first in-person kick-off meeting of the project. Hosted by the Institute for Rural Initiatives (iRi), the meeting brought together 12 representatives from the six partners from Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine for two full working days dedicated to planning the next phase of the project.
During the meeting, partners presented their organisations, roles and local realities, and confirmed a common understanding that many of them work in small towns, rural areas and minority contexts, making peer learning especially relevant for the partnership. The consortium also agreed on the need for open communication, shared documentation and practical cooperation throughout the implementation period.
Partners reviewed the SYNERGY timeline as the main coordination tool and confirmed that study visits should not be limited to passive observation, but should create real learning opportunities through experience, reflection and adaptation. The consortium also confirmed the current list of practices to be explored in each partner country, including topics such as youth empowerment, student councils, volunteer structures, global education, rural activism and local stakeholder cooperation.
They also finalised the 2026 study visit calendar, agreed on the preparation of the guidelines for documenting and monitoring good practices, and confirmed the next online coordination meeting for mid-March, which will focus on the study visit in Romania.
With all these done, the SYNERGY partnership now moves forward to the first study visit and to the next phase of exchanging, testing and disseminating practices that can help counter civic apathy among young people in Central and Eastern Europe.
