Today marked the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. Celebrated every year on 29 May, this day is an opportunity to highlight the crucial role that women peacekeepers play, recognising the importance of their equal participation and full engagement in all efforts to maintain and strengthen peace and security. The engagement of women contributes to improving the success of peacekeeping missions.

Thanks to the remarkable efforts of the project “Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni Districts,” known as the EVA project, the first Specialist Service for Victims of Sexual Violence in Moldova was created last year, in March 2022. The service offers any adult person who has been a victim of sexual violence the opportunity to benefit from medical, legal, psychological and social assistance in a single location. With the launch of the service, the need for a piloting exercise was identified to analyse how it works in practice.

In recent years, important progress has been made towards achieving gender equality in Moldova. Women have gradually but steadily increased their representation in leadership and decision-making processes, including women from underrepresented groups. Moldova has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, and various laws and policies are being amended to eliminate the main barriers that prevent women from participating in the labour market.

Twenty-four communities from Cahul and Ungheni districts have become true champions in promoting gender equality. These remarkable results are thanks to the project, “Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni Districts,” known as the EVA project, which was launched in 2020 by UN Women Moldova in partnership with UNICEF and funded by the European Union. Since its launch, the Eva project has significantly contributed to promoting gender equality in Moldova, with its main objectives being to integrate a gender perspective into local policies and budgets and to combat gender-based violence, including domestic violence and violence against children, in the two districts of Cahul and Ungheni. The project’s activities took place in 24 localities in these districts and lasted until May 2023.

Prime Minister Dorin Recean held a dialogue with Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova’s Country Representative and Simon Springett, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations (UN) in the Republic of Moldova. The discussion tackled various topics related to combating violence against girls and women, economic empowerment, enhancing women's leadership in society and providing the necessary support to women refugees from Ukraine.

Six civil society organizations from both banks of the Nistru River were awarded over $58,000 United States dollars (USD) in small grants to strengthen their institutional capacity to promote peace, social cohesion and gender equality and significantly increase the participation of women in peacebuilding processes. The financial support is being provided through the project "Building sustainable and inclusive peace, strengthening trust and social cohesion on both banks of the Nistru River," which is funded by the United Nations PeaceBuilding Fund and jointly implemented by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), UNDP and UN Women Moldova.

People with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, especially during crisis situations. After fleeing the war in Ukraine, people with disabilities who moved to Moldova have been facing challenges in accessing the services they need.

Five Ukrainian women refugees are working as volunteers in civil society organizations in Moldova. In partnership with UN Volunteers (UNV), UN Women provided these job opportunities as part of a six-month UN Volunteers Community Programme pilot, that aims to support the refugees by providing a decent income and useful work experience. The volunteer assignments are based in Balti, Cahul, Ungheni and Chisinau, and will support the women refugees in contributing and informing refugee response initiatives and multisectoral gender-based violence services to refugee women and girls in their localities.

On 1 April, free courses were launched for Ukrainian refugee children through a programme by Tekwill Academy Kids, which is an initiative of the National Association of ICT Companies (ATIC). The courses, which were attended by children and adolescents from Ukraine between ages 10 and 17, were Robo-Maker and Graphic Design. During these courses, the students studied the design and programming of robots, including design principles and basic tools to create quality images for digital media and print.

Roma women and girls held a march called ‘Know me. Accept me,’ followed by a roundtable in which they discussed the problems they face integrating into society and their desire to preserve Roma traditions. The march and roundtable are part of a series of events organized by the Platform of Roma Women "ROMNI" and UN Women Moldova to commemorate International Roma Day.

Ina Iavorschi is a young entrepreneur who helped launch VV-Billing, a digital platform that will facilitate the billing and payment of communal services, among other things. Ina told UN Women Moldova about her experience as a woman entrepreneur and the professional development opportunities offered in IT.

Over the years, more and more people around the world have been choosing online training for its flexibility and the opportunities it can offer. Online courses are gaining popularity in the Republic of Moldova as well. UN Women invites you to meet Tatiana Ciaglic, the founder of Easy E-learning, a course platform that seeks to develop a learning algorithm that would allow its users to customize studying and training materials to fit their own needs and preferences. Tatiana’s goal is to make the learning process become as efficient and enjoyable as possible.

The first Specialised service for victims of sexual violence in the Republic of Moldova was inaugurated in Ungheni. The service is funded by the European Union and has been created with the support of UN Women in partnership with the central and local authorities. The service provides any adult, victim of sexual violence, with the possibility to benefit from medical, legal, psychological and social assistance in one place.

Women with disabilities in Moldova face obstacles in not only finding and maintaining employment but accessing different types of services as well. As a result, they are vulnerable to poverty and violence and in some cases, become socially excluded. However, nearly six out of ten women with disabilities are resilient to stigma and discrimination and well aware of their rights.

On 20 March 2023, Women Hub Balti, a new IT centre for women and girls, was launched and implemented in the Republic of Moldova as part of the "Empowering Women Hubs Network." This initiative is being co-organized by the Moldovan Association of IT Companies (ATIC) and IHUB, in collaboration with UN Women Moldova and with financial support from the Government of Sweden.

From online learning and digital activism to the rapid expansion of high-paying tech jobs, the digital age has generated unprecedented opportunities for the empowerment of women and girls. But advancing technology is also introducing new forms of inequality and heightened threats to their rights and well-being.

On 7 March 2023, UN Women Moldova hosted the event "Empowering women in a digital world" in honour of International Women's Day. The event sought to encourage women and girls from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to follow a career in IT or STEM, along with strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration in digital fields.

After analysing and researching the Moldovan labour market, Anna Rojelovscaia decided to change career paths a few years ago. She went from working as a philology teacher who trained students to a human resources manager and then, finally, migrated to the digital sector. This is how Anna came to be the founder and administrator of X-GEBO Studio, a company that creates commercial 2D and 3D animations for the film industry and different videos, including those used for advertising. Her work involves managing the company and creating content for social media. In this article, Anna tells us about the successes and challenges facing women in Moldova’s digital field.

Maria Vacarciuc from Glinjeni village, in the Fălești, is the director of the Multifunctional Center for Social Assistance "Nufărul alb" and the founder of the "Sat modern" Association. With the support of UN Women and Gender Centru, as well as financial support of the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund, Maria has carried out a series of activities for the integration of refugees into society.

conference On 3 March, the National Conference of Women Mayors brought together nearly 200 mayors, along with local and central government officials and international community members. Held at the Palace of the Republic in Chișinău, the conference focused on "The role and contribution of women leaders in advancing sustainable and inclusive local development, promoting peace and social cohesion in Moldova ".