Over 50 children and young people will be able to attend day by day various educational, sports and leisure activities at the Creativity Centre in Tiraspol, inaugurated on 11 May 2023. The facility was established thanks to a grant from Sweden and the United Kingdom offered as part of the “Advanced cross-river capacities for trade” (AdTrade) UNDP project.

The Creativity Centre has three adapted activity spaces, endowed with furniture, educational toys, equipment, lockers, sanitary units, and an access ramp for people with disabilities. The centre has in place appropriate conditions for children to attend dance, sports, theatre, fine arts, and thematic workshops that are conducted here. 

The centre was opened by Iulia Greciko, an entrepreneur from Tiraspol, with a US€10,000 grant from AdTrade project and her own contribution.

The entrepreneur is planning to create at least 7 jobs for single mothers, provide training for women in difficult situations or people with disabilities and develop a sustainable social centre that offers development and leisure services for people of all ages.

“Thanks to the financial support and business development mentorship I benefited from, I will be able to help single mothers, so they benefit from vocational training, employment opportunities and free educational activities for their children. The centre is unique for our region as it will focus on the creative development of youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET) and the active involvement of people with disabilities, thus creating a genuinely inclusive environment,” said Iulia Greciko.

The Creativity Centre promotes environmental education, both through the sustainability of the operations and through the thematic workshops conducted for children and adults, to be trained to avoid wasting natural resources, to protect the environment and live in harmony with nature.

Katarina Fried, Ambassador of Sweden to the Republic of Moldova, mentioned at the inauguration ceremony: “We are glad to see how our assistance increases women's participation in the labour market and creates innovative services and products on both banks of the Nistru river, including this centre, which provides cognitive development conditions for children, leisure opportunities, active rest and promotes a healthy lifestyle and social inclusion.”

“We are confident that the centre has great potential and it will improve not only the lives of children, young people and women in difficult situations but also the lives of generations to come. We're glad to support such businesses, which contribute both to creating jobs for vulnerable people and new services needed by the population and help establish an environment of trust and cooperation in the region,” said Steven Mark Fisher, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Republic of Moldova.

Andrea Cuzyova, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. to the Republic of Moldova, mentioned that UNDP is actively promoting the development of social businesses for the benefit of vulnerable groups, with a particular focus on women: “Social enterprises achieve their social mission and social impact through economic activities. It is rewarding to see that the Creativity Center in Tiraspol, as a social enterprise, will deliver many educational and creative activities for children and youth from the region. In addition, new working places will be created for single mothers, youth, people with disabilities and thus create a truly inclusive social environment.”

With the support of UNDP, Sweden and United Kingdom, other social entrepreneurial ideas were supported: a social hairdresser salon, production of wooden toys, of household items.