It is our great honor and privilege to let you know on July 11th, Chris Elias, the President of the Global Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation visited Moldova to better understand how public libraries impact the development of the communities, and how they positively contribute to addressing the development issues of community members. Throughout the visit, the President was accompanied by the vice-president of IREX, Rob Cronin, and other Foundation’s representatives. The Global Development is in charge of the Global Libraries Initiative - program which makes it possible to implement Novateca program in Moldova.
During the trip, Chris Elias and Gates Foundation representatives visited the Vatici village public library. In Vatici, the officials learned more on the life of a typical Moldovan village and the library director, Lydia Colesnic, spoke about how migration affects the population and how the public library tailors its services to improve the lives of local people.
Also in Orhei, the President of Global Development visited the Orhei raion library "A. Donici" where librarians were thanked for their efforts in modernizing the library, which just a year after joining the Novateca network has become a true leader both for libraries and the district and the country. Through training offered for the community as well as correct application and understanding of the concept of modern library, the Orhei public library serves as an important pillar in the socio-economic development of Orhei.
Similarly, The President of Global Development Program met with the Minister of Culture, Monica Babuc. The two officials exchanged views on community development and the contribution of libraries to the country's socio-economic development. "Public libraries have become a resource of information, education and communication in those localities where the Novateca program is implemented, thus gaining tremendous authority in the country," said Monica Babuc.
In his turn, the President of Global Development of the Bill and Melinda Gates, Chris Elias, appreciated the Ministry’s leadership role in the successful implementation of the Novateca pilot project, and its increasing involvement in the country grant. The official encouraged the Ministry to advocate for libraries as a platform for community development with other ministries and government agencies, and show leadership in coordinating government engagement, as well as explained the Foundations expectation of sustainability and the hope that the Ministry and other public and private partners will help bring about a systemic change using Novateca as a resource.
The visit culminated with a round-table attended by Vitalie Tarlev, the Deputy Minister of Information Technology and Communications, Stela Mocan, the Executive Director of the e-Government Center of Moldova and Svetlana Cotelea, the Deputy Minister of Health, during which was discussed the partnership between libraries, other institutions and the state. This is the first visit of President of Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Moldova. We are honored that of all 19 countries in which Global Libraries Initiatives implemented, Moldova was selected for this visit.
