American Councils Moldova Newsletter September 2013 En

7/27/2019 American Councils Moldova Newsletter September 2013 En

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American Councils Moldova Newsletter, September 2013

American Councils Moldova

Newsletter, September 2013

Bridge, and Independence Hall. Party guestsalso discussed their interest in various as-pects of American history and culture. SomeAccess students even dressed up as Ameri-can presidents like Abraham Lincoln andThomas Jefferson; delivering excerpts fromthe Gettysburg Address and the Declarationof Independence. To close out the celebra-tion, Access students learned the lyrics to"God Bless America" and pulled confetti pop-pers!

July 6th was a special day for AmericanCouncils in Moldova. Over 50 alumni fromthe Open World Program, the ProfessionalFellows Program (PFP), the Future LeadersExchange (FLEX) Program, and the EnglishAccess Microscholarship Program (Access)gathered to celebrate U.S. Independence

Day, honor active alumni, share successstories, and thank American CouncilsMoldovas strategic partners.

American Councils Moldova county direc-tor David Jesse kicked off the official cere-mony, handing out Thank You awards toour most active alumni and strategic part-ners, such as the Ministry of Education,Ministry of Justice, English Teaching Re-source Center, Radio Moldova, State Uni-versity of Moldova, and many others.Daniela Munca-Aftenev, Open World/PFPprogram officer, moderated a Jeopardy!inspired game on American culture, sym-

bols, and lifestyle. Access coordinator OlgaMorozan later presented Web 2.0 tools thatcan aid international education projects.Our guests participated in an Independ-ence Day lottery, and won various prizes

offered by American Councils Moldovastrategic partners, including free Englishlanguage courses and professional devel-opment opportunities.

Running parallel to the alumni event, theAmerican Language Center organized a

free English Speaking Club session, alsobased on the Independence Day theme.Two special guests were the Americanparticipants in the Eurasia Regional Lan-guage Program, who organized tradi-tional American games and contests forthe young students. The two also spoke toparticipants using various English accentsto reflect the way English is spoken inNew York versus Texas.

Also on July 6th, over 30 Access studentsand teachers involved in the annual EFLsummer camp, joined by FLEX and e-Winning participants, celebrated Inde-pendence Day with a special afternoon

party where they sang American songs,organized team-building activities, cre-ated Independence Day posters andcrafts, and assembled 3-D puzzles depict-ing the Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate

Country Director David Jesse opening speech

American Councils Moldova Celebrates US Independence Day

Independence Day Photo GalleryInside this issue:

Calebrating Independ-

ence Day

2

FLEX 3

ACCESS Microscholarship

Program

4-5

OPEN WORLD Program 6-7

Professional Fellows

Program

8

American Language

Center

9

Best alumni of the month 10-11


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American Councils Moldova support Orhei Youth

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On May 30th American Councils Moldova collaborated with

Orhei Youth Council and two alumni : Vitalie Colun, Orhei

City Mayor (Open World) and Alina Zestrea (FLEX) to imple-

ment a community development project to involve the newly

formed regional youth council. The motto of the event was

The BEST moment to take action is NOW" and its beneficiaryMiorita" Summer Camp which hosts over 1000 children

from various corners of Moldova every summer. The project

aimed to encourage the spirit of volunteering among Orhei

youth and to initiate partnerships with local public organisa-

tions in order to implement various community development

projects targeting children and yound adults in the district.

The special guests of the event were Mr Colun Vitalie, Orhei

City Mayor, Open World alumnus and Alexandru Ivanov, Dep-

uty Mayor. Over 100 total participants involved in the project

were coordinated by FLEX alumna Alina Zestrea and Corina

Erhan, Youth Center Orhei Director. The activities included in

the project combined trainings on community development, workshops on civic engagement moderated by local experts from the Youth

Center Orhei and practical activities, mainly redecoration of the Miorita" summer camp recreational areas. Over 1000 childre n will be

hosted by the camp this summer, so the participants made sure the camp looks fresh and colorful! Orhei Youth Council Director CorinaErhan is also one of the participants of the Inspir-O National Mentorship Project initiated by Open World alumna Olga Melniciuc.

July 7-8 the Academy of Science Lyceum hosted a two day workshop organ-

ized for 18 teachers from various regions of Moldova, all members of the eT-

winning network, a free and safe platform for teachers to connect, develop

collaborative projects and share ideas in Europe. Two American Councils

Moldova experts in online tools in education: Morozan Olga and Daniela

Munca-Aftenev moderated a series of sessions aiming to initiate Moldovan

teachers who have recently joined the network in integrating Web 2.0 tools in

educational projects. The participants had the opportunity to practice their

newly acquired IT skills in the computer laball sessions integrated a practi-

cal component, so by the end of the workshop, the participants learned howto create a blog on Blogger and Wordpress, how to put together a movie us-

ing Windows Movie Maker and Photo Story 3, how to create online cartoons

using DVolver, how to save video and audio comments in VoiceThread. Chem-

istry, biology, physics, French and IT teachers from all corners of Moldova worked in teams to learn from the most successful American

Councils Moldova educational projects integrating web tools and engaging students in international collaboration.

Online tools for international educational projects Workshop

This year the American Councils in Moldova hosted the Eurasian Regional Language

Program, which gave Stephanie Russo, a student from the USA, a unique opportunity to

enjoy learning the language and culture of Moldova. Intensive classes in Romanian had

an excellent outcome they boosted our students language ability and even inspired her

to apply for a prestigious research grant program which requires a good knowledge ofthe language. Learning a language successfully is guaranteed when you are immersed

into the culture of the language. The program provides the ideal environment for enrich-

ing ones linguistic and cultural knowledge. Along with one -to-one Romanian language

teaching Stephanie was actively involved in a number of events and summer projects

organized by the American Councils where she practiced her language skills and ex-

changed cultural experiences with Moldovan students. Living in a host family, visiting

museums and art-galleries, roaming around historical sites and spending lazy summer

afternoons in a local library are some of the things our participant has experienced. This

is what Stephanie said when she was leaving Moldova: If I win a scholarship to study

Romanian, I would love to come back here!

American Councils in Moldova hosted the Eurasian Regional Language


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On June 19, 2013, American Councils and the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Edu-

cational and Cultural Affairs announced eight winners of the 12th annual Faces ofFLEX photo and video contest. Natia Sirdadze 08 of Georgia and Olga Fisakova 09 ofRussia took first place in the photo and video categories, the prize for which is an iPad2.

The winning photo features FLEX alumni releasing into the air a paper lantern in mem-

ory of the 9/11 tragedy, one decade later. The first place video highlights the I volun-

teer FLEX Grants project, which involved orphans in a community service initiative for a

St. Petersburg nursing home. Other winners included the photo Cancer Center, by Yrys

Abdieva 12 of Kyrgyzstan and the video We Can Change the World, by Asylgul Kenzhe-

baeva 11 of Kyrgyzstan (second place); the photo Making Children Smile, by Nicu

Gaibu 12 of Molodva (third place); the photo Dashoguz Children Learn New Thingswith Alisa Ilyasova, by Aknur Saparova 12 of Turkmenistan (Honorable Mention); and

the photo The Victory Day, by Alexey Philippov 11 of Russia and the video We Can

Make It Happen, by Asylgul Kenzhebaeva 11 of Kyrgyzstan (Alumni Choice

Awards). These winners were selected from 190 submissions. Additional contests in

celebration of the FLEX Programs 20th Anniversary will continue throughout the sum-

mer, including the Share Your FLEX Story audio and video clip competitions. FLEXalumni, FLEX participants, host families, Placement Organizations and other friends of

the program are all welcome to participate!

Faces of FLEX Contest Winners Announced: MOLDOVA III PLACE !

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Making Children Smile, by Nicu Gaibu ,

FLEX Alumnus 2012

FLEX alumna from Moldova attends Civic Education Workshop in DC

of my duties was to make a presentation

about projects I implemented upon my

return back home and the advantages of

being an active alum. I must say, however,

this information just fortified the tons of

ideas these spectacular teens already had

in their heads. All of them developed

group projects at the end of the week.

Although for the most part we had a differ-

ent schedule than FLEX students, we

joined the participants at US Department

of State meeting. We got a chance to listento Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of

State for Education& Cultural Affairs,

Adam Ereli. One of his examples of suc-

cessful alumna was Elena Milashina,

FLEX94, one of the nine women who wasrecently recognized with the U.S. Secretary

of State's International Women of Courage

Award for her work as a journalist and

human rights activist. An example that

would motivate anyone to strive for the

better. This one week I had the chance tomeet amazing people and experience un-

forgettable things.

Marina Buciuc, FLEX alumna

Three weeks ago I was honored to be one of

the three representatives of 20,000-big

Eurasia-wide FLEX alumni community at

Civic Education Workshop 2013. I must say

this was the first time when Moldova wasnt

underrepresented neither from participantspart me inclusive, nor from the US Depart-

ment of State officials. From the very first

day we made a good team with my fellow

representatives: Anna Safronova from Rus-

sia and Yerassyl Toleugazinov from Kazakh-

stan, all three of us wisely guided by MaryShea, FLEX Eurasia Alumni Manager. I per-

sonally was delighted to see so many bright

minds among the around 100 participants

amongst who I believe I spotted 6 Moldo-

vans, some of them familiar from PDO. Vlad

Ciuperca, current FLEX student, besides be-

ing a participant also had a position of Social

Media Specialist with few other fellows. One

team from the activEco organization and 09 alumnus

Dorin Hamuraru opened a Bike Point in downtown

Chisinau which is meant to provide free technical

support for city bikers and parking space. This is an

eco-friendly, sustainable project which is meant to

benefit the biker community from the capital of

Moldova.

Kite Sale at Cimislia: On August 30th, Maria Mocanu13, organized together with Peace Corps volunteers

a local Kite Sale Fundraiser. The money raised will go

to organizing a Back to School celebration at the Edu-

cational Center for children diagnosed with cancer.

Marias activity is viewed as one of leadership whichsets a benchmark for her fellow alumni- friends and

not only to make a difference in their communities.

Theater Play Costume Sewing: On the 21stof August, Ruxanda Barba 08 organized ameeting with other 4 FLEX alumni and 1 non-

alumna (Gabriela Cernalev 11, Maria Mocanu13, Olga Gustiuc 13, Victoria Lungu 13, and

Daniela Lungu) volunteers to sew costumes

for The Vegetable Garden theater play. It wasimportant to engage alumni in the process of

sewing the costumes to emotionally involve

them in the cause, which is: having a small

celebration for children who do not have the

means or privilege to see a theater play or

have a celebration.

Bike Point Opening in Chisinau: On the 21stof August, Valeria Svart 07, together with her

FLEX Moldova Alumni Activities


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English Access Microscholarship Program Successfully Expands to New Areas

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enjoy watching a lot of authentic movies; illustrate their excellence in artistic crafts; learn how to play musical instruments; experience

mount climbing; get surprisingly involved in City Quest; meet new friends from EFL program, and of course, receive highly honorable

guests - Mr. Brent Israelsen, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy Moldova, and Mr. Senator Mike Brubaker, Pennsylvania, USA with

his wife, Mrs. Cindy Brubaker. Among excellent trainers who succeeded in teaching and training 5 groups of students were Olga Morozan,

Diana Retcu, Corina Ceban, Aliona Bragaru, Nadejda Tucicova, Svetlana Lungu, Doina Morari, Lozinschi Alexandru, Valentina Cornescu,

Nicoleta Gadarenco, Mihail Filipenco, Iana Basarab, Nicoleta Nichifor, Jesse Pluim, and 3 volunteers from Leadership Academy Program.

From June, 25 to August 8, 2013 Access Micro-Scholarship Program organized Sum-

mer Camp for 75 teenagers from vulnerable families living in Ungheni, Balti, Cahul,

Comrat, Varnita/Bender, and15 Special Education Needs adolescents from Chisinau.

During almost 8 weeks, children attended a intensive instructive-educational program

where participants had the chance to: develop their group spirit during teambuilding

sessions; enrich their lexicon during Vocabulary classes; develop their language skills

at Integrated Skills lessons; collaborate in many classroom projects during Project

Work; initiate themselves in Project Writing issues; implement successfully some com-munity service projects; have fun while celebrating the Independence Day Picnic;

and study programs. During the past six months, Access Prgram students have been involved in numerous community development

projects across the country. From September 2012 to January, 2013 they participated in IEARNs Computer Chronicles Learning Circles,

where they showcased their creative thoughts and ideas onsocial issues with projects such as, Words Govern the World,The History

of Money: In God We Trust, andPeople Who Write The History. They joined the"Talking Kites Around the World" iEARN project in

March where they created kites as a symbol of bridging the gap and understanding of the "other. And, in Ungheni, students organized a

Horse Alert!!! flash mob in April to raise awareness about the poor treatment of horses atracing venues inside the country.One of the

most successful collaborative activities included the Access Youth in Action flash mob, performed by current students and prog ram

alumni in the six regions. A total of 400 participants joined together to encourage Moldovan youth look for opportunities to participate

in U.S. exchange and study programs through dance performances, posters, flags, and thematic songs. Aside from collaborative projects,

Access programs students had the opportunity to receive several distinguished U.S. official guests, such as, Bay Fang, U.S. Deputy Assis-tant Secretary of State for Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Moldova William H. Moser.

Since September 2012, the English Access Microscholarship (Access) Program in Moldova

has extended to six new regions of the country: Soroca, Balti, Ungheni, Comrat, Varnita/

Bender, and Chisinau. With this expansion, the number of total enrolled students has in-

creased from 80 to 120 in the program. Established in 2010, the English Access Microschol-

arship Program in Moldova aims to provide a foundation of English language skills to tal-

ented 14-18 year-olds from economically disadvantaged sectors through after-school classesand intensive sessions. Access students gain an appreciation for American culture and de-

mocratic values, increase their ability to participate in the socio-economic development of

Moldova, and improve their chances to compete for, and participate in, future U.S. exchange

Access Summer Camp, 2013: 8 Weeks of Activism and Joy

"Buy, Use, Recycle It!" Project within International Outreach Fund

"As a part of the International Outreach Fund, 20 students from Access -

Ungheni developed and implemented a community-service project "Buy,Use, Recycle It!", meant to arise the community spirit on saving the

natural resources by rationally using daily life goods through recycling.

The project impressed people from the central park of the town through

informative posters and participants' activism. The most representative

moment was the Recycle Cloth Parade, which offered original ideas for

the ecologist cloth designers and got a real sense of happiness and hu-

mor among all project beneficiaries and curios passers-by from Ung-

heni."

Olga Morozan,

Access Microscholarship Program Coordinator

American Councils Moldova


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Senator Brubaker Visits Access Studentsfrom Balti and Varnita/Bender

Page 5


you live in about a local issue they

have to deal with. So, I looked up an

interesting project "The Millenium

Project", specifically "15 Global Chal-

lenges" that I really wanted to stress

because they deal with the problems

the humans are facing every day. I sent

a picture of the project to the ACCESS

group and told them to discuss the

topics and to come with some info

about the Moldova's situation on those

issues like democratization or the gap

between the rich and poor, and to talk

to American members of NYG (Net

Youth Generation) Ambassadors Club.

This club is also led by Cyndi Oberle-

Dahm.

The Skype conference took place on

26th of April, 2013. The purpose of it

was to make both American youth and

the students from Moldova to meet an-other culture and just to talk about stuff

that matters for both sides. I think that

mainly the language (accents and vo-

cabulary), as well as different opinions

on issues, was the main experience that

they achieved from it. I was very excited

about it as were Mrs. Oberle-Dahm and

the American teenagers that came to

talk with foreign people. I was really

impressed by the high preparation on

topics of the ACCESS group from Ung-

heni. I was pleased by the way they gathered infor-

mation about Moldova on several issues. The Ameri-

can youth that participated in the conference wereimpressed as well. I think that the accent of the

Moldovan teenagers was really attractive for them. I

would hope that this was a good experience for the

ACCESS group in Ungheni as well as for the Ameri-

can students, because even when we were discuss-

ing global topics and issues, I could make a differ-

ence between two different mentalities, points of

view and opinions. Regardless of it, those thoughts

led to one common idea of how we may improve the

society - the aspect of living - in order to change our

lives for good. I was fortunate to have the opportu-

nity to do a project like this. It really was amazing to

work with the Ungheni ACCESS program. Those

students have brilliant minds that can change the

world.

On April, 26 , Vlad Ciuperca, Access

Alumni 2012 and Flex Program student,

2012-2013, inititated a Skype Confer-

ence on cultural, social and educational

topics between the Access group from

Ungheni and Belleville West High

School, Belleville, the USA.

"Hey, my name is Vladislav Ciuperca. I

am from Ungheni, Modova. I am a FLEX

exchange student who currently is living

in the USA for the period of the program.

I also graduated the Ungheni ACCESS

program coordinated by the US Embassy

in Moldova. So, I organized a Skype con-

versation with the new ACCESS group

from Ungheni. I did it with the support

of the ACCESS program in Ungheni

and my FLEX coordinator Cyndi Oberle-

Dahm . Mrs. Oberle-Dahm is a qualified

professional with a masters degree as a

teacher. She a Social Studies teacher

at Belleville West High School in Belle-

ville, Illinois where I go as well. She is a

local coordinator for the World Link

Placement Organization, the organiza-

tion that placed me in the USA.

I wanted to do this Skype conversation

because of GYSD (Global Youth Service

Day) which is widely encouraged among

exchange students. GYSD projects are to

improve or to inform the community

On July 25, 2013 Senator Mike Brubaker, Pennsylvania, and his wife, Mrs. Cindy Brubaker

visited 20 Access students from Balti and Varnita/Bender at the Access Summer Camp.

The guests enjoyed 3 hours of lively communication with Moldovan teens; learnt many inter-

esting things about the Access Micro-Scholarship Program from Moldova; got impressed frommany students online community-service projects; collaboratively built 3-D puzzles of fa-mous American buildings; shared a lot of interesting facts about U.S. life and culture; and got

actively involved in many teambuilding activities. During the whole meeting, the honorable

guests together with students tried their skills

in various games, obtaining perfect results.

Additionally to this, Vlad Ciuperca, one of the

ACCESS Alumni that has recently come back

from the USA as a FLEX Alumna shared to eve-

rybody how the Access program contributed to his personal development and helped him to

become a Flex student. Also, he illustrated many pictures on his life and study in the USA, and

impressed everybody with beautiful traditions the Americans have. The cherry on the cake

was the "Q & A" session that captivated all participants in an active discussion on topics re-

lated to impressions about Moldova, Access program, and of course, the life of a Senator of

Pennsylvania, USA. The most impressive moment for Mr. Senator and his wife was the pre-sent they got from the Access students - hand-made US flags and "4th of July" cards, which

they crafted for "4th of July" holiday.

Skype Conference between the Access group from Ungheni andBelleville West High School, Belleville, USA


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June 25-29 Sandy and David Campbell, who had been hosting Moldovan delegates travelling to

North Carolina for several years, travelled to Moldova as part of a post program visit organized

in collaboration with OW alumni and facilitators: Olesea Fortuna, Igor Mardari, Olga Melniciuc.

The Campbells took a tour of the Cricova Winery, organized by OW 2013 delegate Ghenadie

Lisii and attended Taostmaster's International Club, a meeting organized by OW 2011 alumna

Olga Melniciuc. They also travelled to Balti and Soroca, in the north of Moldova, a trip organ-ized by OW 2013 alumnus Alexandru and had the opportunity to visit the Roma community.

OW 2012 alumnus Lilian Zaporojan, MP, took them to Glodeni City where they stayed in a tra-

ditional Moldovan home and met Mr Zaporojan's parents. OW 2013 alumna Lilia Turcan and

OW 2011 alumna Olga Melniciuc organized a trip to several Moldovan monasteries, as well as

to a traditional Ukrainian - Catsapi community. The trip ended up with a Farewell Party organ-

ised by Dinu Armau and Olga Melniciuc.

American host family from North Carolina visits Moldova

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Stela Bucur is promoting volunteering in Bobeica village

how to organise and implement

a community development pro-

ject. These volunteers have

recruited other fifteen volun-

teers and worked together on aproject to benefit the local kin-

dergarden. "Always Together"

NGO, whose President is Mrs

Bucur, high school administra-

tion and local public authorities

and business people have been

involved in the project. Another

activity organized by the volun-

teers was the "Fairy Day" at the

local kindergarden - they read

stories and organised games for

OW 2012 alumna Sela Bucur

won the Small Alumni Grants

competition in spring 2013 and

received financial support from

US Embassy in Moldova to im-plement a five month long

"Inspiring Youth: LearningCommunity Involvementthrough Action" project. MrsBucur's initiative aims to in-

volve Bobeica youth in various

community development pro-

jects and support the local Vol-

unteers Club. Ten volunteers

have been recruited from the

local high school and trained on

the children. The final compo-

nent of the project was the

establishment of the Volunteer

Corner in the local high school.

This became a place wherevolunteers posted useful an-

nouncements, news blasts,

pictures, reports, flyers, post-

ers and informed the commu-

nity of their activites. The par-

ticipants also participated in a

small grants competition, sub-

mitted project proposals on

how to create a local play-

ground. and received diplomas

from project coordinators.

Ludmila Mitioglo launches the Gender development in Gagauzia projectOW 2011 alumna Ludmila Mitioglo has initiated the Gender development in Gagauzia Pro-ject ( ) aimed at raising womens awareness

and understanding about their rights, as well as public awareness of the role and importance

of women for an active and full participation in the community life. The project was launched

in Comrat, in the Gagauzia region in the South of Moldova April 17 th May 17th 2013. Success-ful women from the region were invited to various events which discussed the importance of

women's active involvement in various spheres of the community and shared examples from

their own experience. Discussions on

gender equality have been broadcasted

through television programs, newspa-

per articles and informational videos.

The information campaign "Gender development in Gagauzia" attracted womens at-

tention and encouraged them to make the best of their skills and achievements. Spe-cial guests and succesful women who participated in the project: Valentina Todorova,

Head of the CB FinComBank JSC branch in Comrat, Maria Parfionova, Director of the

Gagauz Radio community, Svet-

lana Mironova, reporter of the Focus ofthe week ( ), Direc-tor of the Human Rights Centre in Ga-

gauzia, Chairman of the Central Election

Commission on Elections of Deputies of the National Assembly 2012, Liubovi Zaharia, Deputy

Mayor of Ceadir-Lunga The purpose of the project: Promoting women rights, democracyand gender equality, the integration of the above values into the public consciousness by in-

forming the public about the problems of gender inequality in the Gagauz community.


7/12

OW 2009 National media alumna Iulia Buzenco has just won the small alujmni grants offered by US

Embassy in Moldova to implement her Online Network for Human Rights Expression Project.The pur-

pose of the project is to instruct 30 young bloggers on how to create and publish professional blogs on

human rights issues. One of Mrs Buzenco's partners is another OW alumna, Natalia Ghilascu, who will

be actively involved in the project as an instructor. Project partner: CIDO (Resource Center for HumanRights). As a result of the project, participants will interview local politicians, NGO leaders, social activ-

ists, etc and create 30 blogs which will discuss various issues related to human rights in Moldova. Mrs

Buzenco will also broadcast 5 radio shows on the national radio to report on the project successes. "In

2009, when I traveled to US as an open World delegate, there were no talk shows in Moldova, blogging was

just at its starting stage and no national television had public ways to connect online to their audience and

offer the opportunity to leave online comments, questions and feedback. While visiting media channels in

US, I was impressed by how they used the digital world as a means to connect to citizens and involve them in the discussion of major

social, economic and political issues. today, I am happy to see how Moldovan media evolved and I try to actively connect Web 2.0

tools to my projects, including my most recent initiative: "Online Network for Human Rights Expression".

OW alumna Iulia Buzenco

launches the Online Network for Human Rights Expression Project

Page 7


OW alumna Stela Bucur partnerships with Peace Corps to organizeMoldova Volunteering Tour 2013

"Always Together", the NGO I reprezent,would like to thank volunteers from Peace

Corps Moldova: Romy Solomon, Elsa Leal

and Sue Murphy for a successful collabora-

tion as part of such a wonderful project. We

registered as national partners, included

our Volunteers Club in Bobeica (about 23

people), and organized this national event,

each of us having defined roles. Our Ameri-

can volunteer came up with the idea and of

course I accepted immediately. As a re-

gional partner organization, we had a very

special guest visiting our NGO: US Ambassa-

dor in Moldova Mr William Moser."

Stela Bucur,Open World alumna,

Always Together NGO President

In honor of Peace Corps Moldova's 20thanniversary, OW alumna Stela Bucur col-

laborated with Peace Corps volunteers as a

regional partner to lead a tour across

Moldova in June, 2013 addressing the Peace

Corps mission to promote peace and friend-

ship. The Tour involved stopping for over-

nights at communities along the way and

organizing events with local NGOs, schools,

or the city halls at each stop. There were 2

routes, both starting on the 15th of June and

finishing on the 30th. One of the routes

started in the North of Moldova, the other in

a location in the South with both finishing in

Chisinau. Project Goals: to promote volun-teerism in Moldova, to promote healthyliving and an active lifestyle and to provide

opportunities to engage in community im-

provement and youth.

OW alumna Olga Melniciuc hosts American EurasiaRegional Language Program fellow

wonderful young Moldovan ladies sharing

the same age and dreams. We attended a

Toastamsters Club night, where Isabella

met other Americans and observed how

Moldovan invest in their professional

development. I encouraged Isabella totravel, I guided her around Chisinau, and

even suggested to visit Odesa, where she

spent a couple of days by the seaside. I am

sure Isabella loved Moldova and we will

have a soft spot in her heart for us. I loved

being a host and can recommend it to

anyone!"

Olga Melniciuc,

Open World alumna

JCI Chisinau President

INVENTO President

"It is for the first time in my life that I

became a host for an American guest. I

was very nervous at first - my working

schedule is very tight and I didn't know

how much time I would need to spend

with my guest, what kind of person shewould be and if we would get along. Isa-

bella was a wonderful surprise - a young

18 year old lady, who turned up at my

doorsteps in July, a little shy and tired. We

spent two wonderful months together!

Every night, at dinner, we would share

stories about what we did on that day,

plans we had for the followig day and also

funny stories. I tried to explain Isabella

what I do as a program coordinator and

invited her to attend the closing event forthe LeaderSHE Project, where she met


8/12

Moldova PFP alumna Veronica Vragaleva hosts US Senator Brubaker

Page 8


ing the Deputy President of the Parliament

and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of

Moldova,top management of the hosting or-

ganization and the top management of theMinistry of Finance (Deputy Minister of Fi-

nance and Head of Taxes and Customs Policy

and Legislation General Department), Acad-

emy of Sciences and National Institute of Eco-

nomic Research. Also, they met local authori-

ties in one of Moldovans Districts in the Northpart of the country at Soroca District Tax Of-

fice and to the Soroca Territorial House of

Social Security.

The visit also included meetings with repre-

sentatives from US Embassy, American Re-

source Center, American Councils, Access

Summer Camp Coordinators, U.S. Agency for

International Development (USAID) andAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Moldova.

For a better understanding of Moldovans and

Moldovan culture, Ms Vragaleva also organ-

ized a trip to the North of Moldova, where the

Brubakers had the opportunity to visit some

of our oldest monuments and monasteries,

such as Soroca Fortress, Curchi Monastery

Complex and Old Orhei archeological complex.

Also, they visited the Moldovan Historical

Museum as well as Milestii Mici, the biggest

wine cellar in the world according to Guin-

ness Records Book.

To quote Senator Brubaker, This experiencewould not be possible without the US State

Dept sponsored program and without them

selecting young professionals that are ready

and willing to grow in their knowledge of

America as well as teach Americans about

their Home Country. I can not compliment

Veronica, and the program coordinators

enough. The experience we both shared

changed our view of Moldova forever, and for

the better.

22-28 July, 2013 LFP/PFP alumna Veronica

Vragaleva organized a post program visit to

Moldova for her US hosts, Senator Mike

Brubaker and his wife Cindy, as part of her

outbound project entitled Legal aspects of

the state financial system: Moldovan-American intercultural exchange. The pro-ject aimed to introduce Senator Brubaker

to the tax system of the Republic of

Moldova and its connection to other finan-

cial and non-financial organizations. The

project official host organization was The

Main State Tax Inspectorate of the Republic

of Moldova. The Senator and his wife met

various local high level authorities, includ-

Moldova PFP alumna Veronica Natalia Vilcu-Bajurean invited her Americanhosts to Moldova for her outbound project

trative system, still in Moldova the state is rep-

resented by prosecutors and other different

bodies according to the field in which they

work.

The main goals of the Outbound Project were

to familiarize US visitors with judicial system

of the Republic of Moldova, to identify oppor-

tunities for cooperation and exchange pro-

grams, to promote the best practices of the US

and initiate Moldovan colleagues into the US

judicial system and to establish a bridge of

cooperation between Department of the At-

torney General of Hawaii and Ministry of Jus-

tice of RM.Donna H. Kalama: "I am so grateful for theopportunity we had to visit Moldova and learn

about its history, its people, and its legal sys-

tem. There is tremendous value in participating

in this type of professional/cultural exchange.

Natalia was a marvelous host. She obviously

put a great deal of time and effort into arrang-

ing for our meetings, which is why we were able

to do so much and learn from so many people in

the short time we were in Moldova. Mahalo

(thank you) to the State Department, American

Councils, our amazing host family Iurie and

Olga, Natalia and Ruslan, and all those who

helped make this experience one I will never

forget."

Wilma Sur: I had a wonderful time andnow have a true interest in Eastern Europe

and an appreciation of the legal and social

problems that you are going through. I do

want to follow through with setting up some

kind of exchange program. Thank you again

for your tremendous effort and hospitality.

Natalia VLCU-BAJUREAN, PFP 2012alumna implemented her outbound project

Titentitled Enhancing capacities of theMinistry of Justice and other public authori-

ties of the Republic of Moldova related to

representing the State in national and inter-

national courts, through the experience of

the United States Department of the Attor-

ney General, May 5 19, 2013. The special

guests of the project were DonnaH.KALAMA, Supervising Deputy AttorneyGeneral, State of Hawaii, Department of the

Attorney General, Land/Transportation

Division and Wilma SUR, practicing attor-

ney, member of California and Hawaii bars.

Being an intern at the Department of the

Attorney General in Hawaii as part of the

LFP/PFP Program I had the chance and

opportunity to study how this subdivision of

the executive works, what are the duties and

responsibilities of deputy Attorney General

staff working in different divisions. I realized

that in the Republic of Moldova we perform

the same activities but in a different way. We

do not have a separated body that will rep-

resent the states interests as in US adminis-


9/12

American Councils Moldova Launches English Teaching Certificate Course

Page 9


American Councils Moldova Joins eTwinning Network

following feedback. Seven highly experi-

enced instructors from American Coun-

cils Moldova led sessions, covering top-

ics from classroom management and

error correction strategies to adapting

teaching methods for different levels.Participants also were able to attend

classes taught at the American Language

Center, one of American Councils

Moldova subdivisions. The English Lan-

guage Teaching Certificate course

closely follows the Common European

Framework of Reference for Teaching

Languages.

American Councils Moldova recently de-

buted Moldovas very first English TeachingCertificate Course under the guidance of

Dorina Calinovscaia, American Language

Center Director of Studies. Based on the

Cambridge Teaching Certification, this pro-vides advanced, practical teacher training in

the areas of methodology, techniques, and

language awareness to English language

instructors with different professional back-

grounds from all over Moldova: Causeni,

Comrat, Cimislia and Varnita. The course

comprised 120 academic hours of class

training and individual work combined with

classroom observation, input hours and

April 30, American Councils Moldova Country Director David Jesse met with Mihai Calalb, Or-

ganization for Reform and Development in Educational System (ORDSE) Chairman and eTwin-

ning Project Coordinator in Moldova, to agree on an official partnership between AmericanCouncils Moldova and the eTwinning network. The eTwinning network is an exciting learning

community that promotes school collaboration in Europe, through the use of Information and

Communication Technologies (ICT). Launched in 2005 through the European Commissions

eLearning Programme, eTwinning is available in twenty-five languages and has the involvement

of nearly 170,000 members and over 5,324 projects between two or more schools across

Europe. American Councils Moldova will provide logistical support to the eTwinning network,

employing its most experienced educators and students in online projects as mentors, trainers,

and curriculum developers. With this new partnership, eTwinning members will be connected

to Access Microscholarship Program teachers and students from over 6 regions around

Moldova, with whom they will have the opportunity to share resources, tools, and best educa-

tional practices. The most active eTwinning members will have the opportunity to travel to

Chiinu to participate in American Councils summer projects, such as, the Future Leaders Ex-change (FLEX) English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Access Microscholarship Program.

ALC Discussion Club

brations and also covered the

topic of the origin of the Fall

holidays and its meaning in

modern life, which arose inter-

est and lively discussion.

The sessions will take place

every other Saturday, three of

which will be dedicated to tradi-

tions of Halloween, Thanksgiv-

ing and Christmas.

ALC Discussion Club launched its Fall ses-

sion on 28 September 2013 which at-

tracted 18 current, former and prospec-

tive ALC students.

Amy Samuelson, Fulbright and ALC In-

structor, together with the help of the

students made an introduction and ex-

pressed the insight view of the Fall holi-

days in the USA and Moldova, made com-

parison between local and national cele-

What else is a student's feedback if not always rewarding...?Wondering what would brighten up the routine and would be useful, captivating, entertaining, what would

develop your way of thinking, of writing and speaking in a foreign language (English, for example)? Me too!

Better said, I was, until I started attending English language courses at American Language Center with the

American Councils Moldova. Ive got now a totally different idea of what studying is. When coming home, after

the lesson, you realize that all those bunches of grammar rules and vocabulary words you used to learn by

heart are already there, in your head, you know its the right way of teaching and studying. I enjoyed every

single lesson, no kidding. I loved the atmosphere, it makes you feel free and comfortable, no pressure,

everythings very liberal, but at the same time well-organized and thought thoroughly. I had my courses in the

morning, so I was very pleased to be able to make a cup of tea and just drink it during the lesson; it creates a

warm and lovely ambiance. Thanks to this course I got to know many awesome people and this is the thing Im

intellectual freedom; it smells like friendship and has the sound of a childs laughter. Valeria Cernei
http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htmhttp://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htmhttp://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm


10/12

Stela Bucur, Open World alumna of 2012, has become an active promoter of gender equality and

volunteering after her visit in US. NGO president, business woman, political activist and an ac-

tive volunteer, Mrs Bucur is constantly engaged in various community development projects.

Her mosr recent project entitled "Inspiring Youth: Community Involvement through Action

Learning" was financed by the US Embassy in Moldova and aims to promote volunteering

and active participation of youth in the Bobeica community.

In July 30, 2013, she became an official Peace Corps Moldova strategic partner and collabo-

rated with American volunteers to organize its 20 anniversary together with Jennifer Solo-

mon, Elsa Leal, Sue Murphy and other Peace Corps volunteers.

The tour included 30 villages around Moldova and William Moser, US Ambassador to

Moldova and Janet Utecht, Peace Corps

Director visited Bobeica as project special

guests.

Mrs Bucur has collaborated with and has

been financed by such organisations as

Soros Foundation and East European

Foundation.

Among her most recent projects can be men-

tioned: Your vote does count!, , Let's pro-

mote volunteering in Bobeica, "I am going tovote, and you?", "Involving women leaders in

the local decision making process", "Building a

playground in Bobeica community"

Natalia Vlcu-BajureanPFP honorary alumna of the month of May

there were identified several ways for further

collaboration for the strengthening of the capaci-

ties of the Young Lawyers Association and theCouncil for Mediation of the Republic of Moldova.

Upon her return Mrs. Vilcu-Bajurean was pro-

moted to the position of Head of the Division

within the Department of Legal Professions and

Services, a newly created body within the Minis-

try of Justice. She is now responsible for the pro-

motion of the policies in the field of legal profes-

sions, namely for the authorized translators and

interpreters.

Recently she has been involved with the drafting

of the amendments to the Law regulating author-

ized translators and interpreters. She is also a

member of the Committee for Authorization of

Translators and Interpreters. She participated in

the working group responsible for the elaboration

of the draft laws On Normative Acts, On Media-

tion, On State Guaranteed Legal Aid.

Natalia Vilcu-Bajurean, PFP 2012 Alumni spent

her 4 week internship in the Department of the

Attorney General, State of Hawaii, where shestudied the structure of this governmental body,

duties of the attorneys within the Departments,

and participated in official meetings and various

court trials. Upon her return to Moldova, Mrs.

Vilcu-Bajurean was eager to share the knowledge

she acquired in the US with the students from the

National Institute of Justice of the Republic of

Moldova, delivering a presentation on the US sys-

tem of Attorneys General, their role in the judici-

ary, corresponding functions in our system of

justice.

Mrs. Vilcu-Bajurean organized the visit of two

experts from the State of Hawaii within LFP/PFP

outbound project, in the period May 5 May 19which aimed to introduce American legislative

experts to Moldovan judicial system and con-

sisted of visits to important governmental institu-

tions and meetings with legal professionals from

Ministry of Justice, National Institute of Justice,

Supreme Court, General Prosecutors Office, etc.During this visit together with the US experts

Page 10


Stela Bucur - Open World honorary alumna of the month of July

Stela Bucur

Always Together

NGO President

Head of Division

Department of

Legal Professions

and Services

Ministry of Justice


11/12

Vlad Ciuperca, Access Alumna, 2012 and Flex Alumna, 2013 is a good example of how active

and continuously inspired might be a teenager who sensed the values of the Access Micro-

Scholarship Program and the opportunities of being a Flex student.The experience he got in Access helped him to feel a continuous desire to discover new and

new domains and to use all the chances the life offers to a teenager who wants to change

something in his own world and in the world of the others. This way, having been selected in

the FLEX Program, he lived unique moments in the USA as a volunteer, receiving a certificate

from the US Department of State for more than 100 hours of volunteering in my community

in US. He did that because he considers that volunteering is a good way to help the societyand to learn new things about it or even to make new friends. He was also chosen to partici-

pate in Civic Education Week in Washington DC in March 2013 through an essay competi-

tion. This is a workshop that brings FLEX and other exchange programs' students in Wash-

ington DC for a week to study about the USA (government, history, society, etc.) and to visit

some of the national and historical sites, monuments, museums, etc.

One of his collaborative projects was the Millennium Project- 15 Global Challenges facing

humanity; a Skype Conference between Access students from Ungheni and interested stu-

dents from Belleville West High School, US, who virtually shared their opinions on cultural,social and educational topics, such as differences, similarities and situation today on some

global problems like democratization or clean water.

Returned back to Moldova, Vlad Ciuperca wanted to continue to help and share his compe-

tences acquired as a Access and Flex Alumna. Thus, he joined the new ACCESS group to work

as a teacher-assistant to motivate new generation of Access Micro-Scholarship Program to

improve their English level and to acquire social and civic attitudes through projects coming

ahead. Only in such a way, together he and his students are developing the society, moving it

to another level.

Tatiana is an an active and highly- motivated lady who decided to study English

after visiting USA in 2011. She became an ALC student in November 2011 by en-

rolling into the elementary level for two months and then continued studies up to

the advanced level in July 2013.Tatiana never ceased learning English and worked

hard to practice her speaking and listening skills during the Conversation Club

meetings organized by ALC, debate clubs at the American Resource Center and

other events organized by American Councils in Moldova. Tatiana is very positive,

tolerant, industrious, curious, creative, punctual and conscientious!

I remember the day when my son got his visa to study in the USA. The counselor told

him, "Remember this day, it will change all your life". I can say the same about my

enrolling at ALC- that day surely changed my life as well. Thanks to English courses

at ALC I got to know a lot of interesting and absolutely amazing people, I had an

opportunity to meet and to communicate with the native speakers even at the low

levels, I learned a lot of things about the United States and Britain which sometimes

surprised and charmed me. I fell in love with this language, with the ALC and the

skilled teachers who work hard because the learners have the best conditions, the

best methods, the largest possibilities to use and to enrich their language skills

through the Discussion Club, different other extra activities as a meeting with anAmerican senator etc. Undoubtedly, I will continue my courses for progressing, for

meeting again the team of ALC who definitely possess the secret of motivating the

learners to study this charming language thanks to (not in the last place) a very like-

able and friendly country director of American Councils, David Jesse.I am sure learn-

ing a language has only a beginning; you can never be bored with it and certainly

find out more and more new exciting things about it even at advanced level. I wish

good luck to everybody who is on their path of learning English!"

Tatiana Daniliuc

Page 11


Tatiana Daniliuc - American Language Center Honorary Student

Vlad Ciuperca - Access and FLEX honorary alumnus


12/12

76 Kogalniceanu St.

Chisinau, Moldova

MD-2009

Phone: (+373 22) 22-58-60

Fax: (+373 22) 23-48-73E-mail: [email protected]

American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS is an international not-

for-profit organization leading the development and exchange of knowledge between

the US and Eastern Europe/Eurasia. Its mission is to foster independence and democ-

ratic development by advancing education and research, cultivating leadership, and

empowering individuals and institutions through learning.

Founded in 1974 as an association for area and language professionals, American

Councils has focused its expertise on the design and implementation of academic ex-

change, professional training, distance learning, curriculum and test development, de-

livery of technical assistance and consulting services, research and evaluation, and insti-tution building.

The American Councils office in Moldova has been active since 1992, and is proud to

work together with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs in the administration of various exchange programs and programs for alumni

development. Currently, Moldovan program participants have been to forty-six states in

the United States of America.

In addition, our American Language Center offers high-quality English instruction to

groups of professionals and to the public in general, based upon a unique curriculum

developed by American TEFL specialists.

American Councils Moldova Newsletter, October 2013

We are on the web!

www.americancouncils.md

Documents

American Councils Moldova Newsletter September 2013 En