Building civil society resilience step by step — with visible impact

In Ceadîr-Lunga, the organisation Mirkiras proved that when communities are given access to resources and guidance, they can make real change. With a €10,800 grant from the “Civil Society Resilience in the Eastern Partnership Countries,” project Mirkiras successfully organised a cultural event that brought together nearly 300 people from across the region.

Founded just two years ago, Mirkiras is a young organisation. With this grant, the team equipped its office, launched a professional website, and increased its public visibility.

But this support meant much more than office equipment. It became a true launching pad that strengthened the organization from within and brought it closer to the local community. As part of the project, the team undertook training and mentoring sessions offered by People in Need Moldova. This covered project writing, communication, advocacy, and strategies for well-being, and resilience. These experiences helped the team better understand its development direction and shape a realistic, sustainable strategy.

“We are a relatively new organisation, so People in Need has been like a mentor to us. From the very beginning, we were guided step by step in identifying our needs and growing professionally, thanks to the support and knowledge we gained from the training,”

says Irina Mihalciuc, project coordinator at Mirkiras.

Another key focus of the project was to better understand the needs of local ethnic communities. To this end, Mirkiras surveyed 1,000 respondents from various local minority groups. The results were analysed and shared in a user-friendly format with local authorities. A roundtable was held with the Agency for Interethnic Relations to encourage dialogue between civil society and government institutions.

A highlight of the project was the cultural event held on July 13, 2025, in Ceadîr-Lunga—a true celebration of diversity, gathering more than 300 people, including Gagauz, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Russian, and Turkish community members. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, with music, joy, and a wide range of activities filling the day. Children enjoyed trampolines, ball pits, games, balloons, and creative workshops, while adults watched puppet shows in the Gagauz language, participated in painting and ethnic jewelry workshops, and explored the traditional crafts fair featuring artisans from Gagauzia and Taraclia.

Mirkiras’ experience shows how much impact a well-directed investment in organisational development can have. This project was about trust, learning, and the power of civil society to unite people through shared values. Like many other regional organisations, Mirkiras proved that local initiative can build strong community ties.

“Resilient Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership Region” is a regional project implemented by People in Need, funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic through the Transition Cooperation Programme.