The centres of Cahul and Ungheni municipalities will be renovated with the financial assistance of the European Union. People are part of the change and come up with ideas to transform the centres of these two cities.  Their recommendations will be considered in the modernization of the centres of Cahul and Ungheni municipalities, which will start this year with the financial assistance of the European Union under the “EU4Moldova: Focal Regions” Programme, funded by EU and implemented by UNDP and UNICEF Moldova.

“With this initiative, we would like to encourage the people of Cahul and Ungheni to get involved and share the ideas they have for the development of their communities. This is a key element in the approach the EU has with its support for the focal regions. We hope that with this type of activities, the community will flourish and develop based on the ideas and contribution from their inhabitants,” said Peter Michalko, the European Union Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova.

Residents of Cahul and Ungheni municipalities, as well as people from other regions, are invited to vote, during 4 – 15 June, for the ideas of renovating the centres of localities. To do that, they need to access web pages www.eu4cahul.md (for Cahul) and www.eu4ungheni.md (for Ungheni). For each locality, 10 ideas are put to the vote, the ones that obtained the highest evaluation score of the jury within the contest “EU for Cahul/Ungheni. Your idea for a European municipality”. The contest took place between January and March. More than 300 ideas for modernizing these two cities were presented.

“The EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme created a favourable framework for discussions with citizens regarding the modernization of the cultural, historical and administrative centre of Ungheni municipality. We are glad that the people of Ungheni know the problems of the city and come up with solutions that are realistic and at the same time innovative. We aim to change the appearance of the city centre together, and I am certain that only together we will succeed,” said Alexandru Ambros, Mayor of Ungheni municipality.

“The centre of Cahul municipality needs transformation and improvement of its appearance for the comfort of citizens. The proposals and ideas that people from Cahul have sent to the contest are necessary. They coincide with the priorities set by the municipality, and thanks to the support from the EU, our contribution and citizens' involvement, they will gradually be successfully implemented,” says Nicolae Dandis, Mayor of Cahul.

Each participant can vote once a day, a maximum of 3 ideas out of 10, from an IP address. The authors of three ideas that will accumulate the most votes will get awards.

The contest “EU for Cahul/Ungheni. Your idea for a European municipality” is part of a complex initiative of consultation and participation of people in the development processes of the regions, carried out by the “EU4Moldova: Focal Regions” Programme. "We want a modern city, with people-friendly streets, with places for recreation accessible to people with disabilities, the elderly and families with small children. We are happy to be part of the process of transforming the city. Together, through involvement, we can develop our city," says Svetlana Busuioc, participant in the contest.

The "EU4Moldova: Focal Regions" Programme (2019-2025) supports smart, inclusive, and sustainable socio-economic development in Cahul and Ungheni regions, in order to ensure a better quality of life for citizens. The programme has a total budget of 23 million EURO. It is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).