2018 - An Amazing Year in Review!!

2018 – An Amazing Year in Review!

January 11, 2019

Here at the American Corner Ceadir Lunga, we welcome the New Year with excitement and are looking forward to what the future will bring! And as we move on to 2019, we want to take some time and remember all the events that happened in our small corner of the world! It has been an amazing year indeed, full of fun and learning with students from our community.

We began 2018 by continuing our programs for teens and children. Every Thursday and Friday, at 4 pm, we host the American English Discussion Club for students ages 14 to 18 and older. This club is organized to help improve English speaking and listening skills. We talk about interesting topics such as social issues, life, music, traveling, and discuss them together. We also play lots of games and celebrate American holidays! We want our students to learn and share the American and Moldovan cultures together. We have students who cannot speak English well, but we still encourage them to speak in Russian. It is more important to speak their ideas and think about them.

In the summer, we hosted a one day workshop and invited some of our older students to participate. We learned about organization, planning, leadership which would be helpful in life after finishing school. We also did activities to raise awareness about gender stereotypes and solving problems in our communities. It was a fun event and we were so proud of the students who participated. We hope they will become leaders in the future.

For the children’s club, we host them every Saturday at 12 pm. We learn new words in English and play games. We want to show that learning is fun and even though they may not speak English very well, it is important to try and have fun along the way!

We have had successful events and parties, especially when it comes to celebrating American holidays! Our students love the Halloween party in October. We had a party for the older students and another for the younger ones.

 Then, we celebrated Thanksgiving in November, which is an important traditional holiday for Americans. We drew hand turkeys, talked about what we are thankful for in our lives, and ate a nice meal together!

Time goes by so fast when we are having fun, and before we knew it December was upon us again! We celebrated Christmas by decorating the American Corner with garlands and a Christmas tree. We also watched a Christmas film and exchanged gifts with each other, before saying goodbye for the school break, and saying Do Svidaniya to 2018!

Now it is 2019. We are all getting back to work and school and there are so many things that will happen this year. As we look back in 2018, we are filled with fun memories that we shared together. We are excited to have even more fun this year! Come to our events, and learn with us!

Happy New Year!

Farewell Novateca

Farewell Novateca

December 27, 2018

Last week, librarians all over Moldova gathered together in Moldexpo hall in Chisinau to say goodbye to a great organization which modernized and revitalized libraries in the country and turned them into community centers for learning, entertainment, and innovation. 

Novateca came to Moldova seven years ago, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to work with Moldovan citizens and provide internet access, modern computers and help improve library services to benefit the community. Novateca worked hard to increase public support for libraries and increased library attendance, partnering with the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Protection, increasing partnerships with NGO’s and most importantly, turn the libraries a place where people in the community can come and learn, be empowered by information, and help improve their lives. 

To do so, Novateca provided libraries with modern technology: computers, internet access, smartboards, laptops and tablets, computer programs, and others. Then they trained librarians in the use of this technology, and also assisted in improving their personal and professional development. Through this partnership, Novateca helped create new services in libraries – each services are unique to each communities in Moldova, depending on their needs. Many libraries created programs for elderly citizens and teaching them how to use computers, help job seekers use the internet and write resumes and CV’s to help improve their job search, create clubs for teenagers and teach them how to build robots and machines, events to help people with disabilities and many more programs. Doing so, the libraries have become a great social and cultural center for communities in Moldova, and many people are benefiting because of this work.

Novateca also trained librarians who would become librarian trainers. They conducted seminars in advocacy, internet security, computer skills, inclusion, and more.

The event in Chisinau showed the expanse of success Novateca had done in its 7 year campaign. Moldovan librarians came together and showed new technology from their libraries: arts and crafts, robotics, computer training, and community outreach. It was a great day for the librarians to be able to speak with their fellow colleagues from different raions. Members of the Novateca staff were present, and the librarians expressed their gratitude for the staff’s hard work. Evan Tracz, the director of the Novateca program, expressed his thanks and gratitude to his colleagues and the librarians he had gotten to know over the years.

And even though Novateca has now ended in Moldova, this is not the end for the continuing progress that the community libraries have made. Now librarians will be able to pass on their knowledge to future colleagues. Citizens, both young and old, are now learning how to use this technology and bring their ideas into action.

For the Ceadir Lunga Public District Library, our librarians remain committed to the mission of Novateca. We help job seekers to use computers so they can find jobs. Teenagers come to our youth clubs after school to learn English, exchange different ideas, and have fun instead of being in the streets. Children always come to play games and learn. Libraries from all over the raion come to ours for training and other events. We are all working together to improve our communities.

Thank you for your hard work Novateca, and goodbye!