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Supporting policymaking in education, tourism and culture for Moldova’s Gagauzia autonomy

Published on Tuesday, 21st of December 2021

The Executive Committee of Gagauzia, under the Governor of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, has approved new policies for education and tourism in the territory. The new policies establish long-term goals and activity plans for developing these sectors in Gagauzia. The Policy development process is a part of CMI’s efforts to support Gagauz autonomy.

The Executive Committee of Gagauzia voted on the new policies for education and tourism on December 16.

On 16 December 2021, the Executive Committee of Gagauzia, under the Governor of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah, approved new policies for education and tourism in the autonomy. A new policy document on culture will also be adopted following public consultation.

 

The new policies establish long-term goals and activity plans for developing these sectors in Gagauzia. Governor Vlah thanked Sweden and CMI’s experts for their support in elaborating the new strategic programmes.

 

“The Strategic Programme for Development of Education Sector in ATU Gagauzia 2021-2030 and the Strategic Tourism Development Programme 2021-2025 are very important for the autonomy. I am confident that these policies will have a positive impact for further development of the education and tourism spheres, which will ultimately contribute to the economic development of the region,” said Irina Vlah. 

 

In 2018, CMI in close consultation with the Gagauz authorities and the Parliamentary Working Group on Gagauzia, identified education, tourism and culture as three pilot areas for Gagauzia to develop strategic policy visions.

Developing policies at the autonomy level is an important step towards clarification of competences between the center and autonomy, enabling Gagauzia to efficiently coordinate its policies at the national level and improving longer term dialogue between the centre and the autonomy.

The Governor of Gagauzia, Irina Vlah.

To support this process, CMI’s “Gagauzia Dialogue” project convened a Policy Development Task Force (PDTF) made up of independent experts and representatives of the Gagauz authorities. The PDTF in close partnership with Gagauz authorities developed three policy documents for education, tourism and culture.

The Gagauz authorities also received international support from the Eurac Research experts in autonomy and decentralisation who presented best practices in policymaking. The policymaking process followed the principles of full inclusivity and participation. Each selected area held extensive consultations with a large group of stakeholders including ministries, civil society, NGOs, academia, and local authorities.

The Policy development process is a part of CMI’s efforts to support Gagauz autonomy for effective good governance in key policy areas as a part of its dialogue with the centre, as well as to ensure the sustainable functioning of the Gagauz autonomy within the Republic of Moldova.

The process was facilitated within the framework of the “Gagauzia Dialogue” project, carried out by CMI and funded by Sweden since 2015. The project brings together legislators, experts and interested parties from across Moldova to find joint solutions to issues of multilevel governance linked to Gagauz autonomy