Рroject “Empowering young women: Sustainable livelihoods through tourism”

Moldova State University supports Female Leadership in Tourism through the implementation of the project “EMPOWERING YOUNG WOMEN: SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS THROUGH TOURISM” powered by UN Tourism with funding from the Estonian Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, coordinated by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova alongside the Invest Moldova Agency.

Achieving the objectives of creating a conducive environment for sustainable tourism and for women entrepreneurs in tourism, especially in the Republic of Moldova, as well as improving the capacity of entrepreneurs and employees in the tourism sector to establish a solid foundation for the continuation and further development of business and careers in tourism, was the subject addressed today on the first day of the UN Tourism mission in the Republic of Moldova.

The role of the UN Tourism mission in our country is to conduct train of trainers’ sessions for two groups of experts: trainers for tourism skills training for women in rural areas; trainers for training in Gender Equality for stakeholders in the tourism.

The discussions involved the First Deputy Rector of MSU, Otilia Dandara, the Dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences, Maria Hămuraru, the Institutional Manager of the project, Veronica Bulat, the Director of Technical Cooperation & Silk Road at UN Tourism, Jaime I. Mayaki, the Project Coordinator of Technical Cooperation & Silk Road, UN Tourism, Olivia Siv, the Gender Equality Experts and Consultants from the organization Facilitating Feminist Futures, Lucy Ferguson, and Daniela Moreno Alarcón.

The parties outlined collaboration directions, in light of the project’s objectives, which can contribute to harnessing new educational opportunities in support of female leadership in the tourism industry in the Republic of Moldova.

The First Deputy Rector of MSU, Otilia Dandara, emphasized the multiple benefits that this collaboration will bring to the community of tourism trainers, through the prism of gender equality, with the Moldova State University being a leader in providing educational services in this field: “By organizing train of trainers sessions for two types of training courses, we have the opportunity to diversify the profile of trainers, offering them study and research opportunities in an international context, ensuring sustainability in lifelong learning.”

Members of UN Tourism Mission mentioned that since, according to the Global Report of UN Tourism, the tourism industry is the main employer of women, the project aims to promote women’s roles within the sector through comprehensive learning and training approaches, a direct approach linked to the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN Tourism implements this initiative in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Invest Moldova Agency, and Moldova State University, with funding from the Estonian Development Cooperation Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia.