IATP in partnership with Association Professional Women from Moldova launches a new sub-project offering IT and personal developing training to young women of the selected towns of the Republic of Moldova .

In January 2007, in Moldova launched its new sub-project offering IT and personal developing training to young women - Tech Age Girls – Moldova (TAG Moldova) of the Republic of Moldova . Moldova is one of the post-Soviet countries with pressing human trafficking problem. Lots of Moldovan girls from disadvantaged families, from smaller towns, with less access to information, are looking for a job abroad, and often end up in illegal businesses. Without access to information, these categories of young women lack necessary knowledge to enroll to university, or necessary skills to get a job in their hometown. Part of the employment problem for women is also a fact that they are traditionally considered less technically competent than men; this prejudice often prevents young women themselves from focusing on achieving necessary level of computer literacy. TAG Project aims to help address the situation described above by providing encouragement and training to girls of disadvantaged families, smaller towns and rural areas.

There are 3 main goals:

•  equip target audience with solid computer skills, increase participants chances for continuing education or getting jobs;

•  spread information about studying abroad or in leading Moldovan universities, improve participants job searching skills, warn young women against human trafficking and engagement in illegal businesses;

•  encourage target audience to continue education and seek for legal job in Moldova , fight pessimism and prejudice against women\\\\\\\'s competence in using modern technologies;

Over 85 young women will benefit from IATP services during the project period implementation: from January to November 2007. The expected outcomes include training pupils in Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Web Design, Power Point, bogs, MS Access. Also during the project implementation participants will learn how to write a good CV, how to successfully pass an interview, how to develop a project, how to develop leadership abilities. During the project implementation there will be organized countrywide online discussions, a national forum and international on-line discussions with prominent women. As target locations for the first stage of TAG implementation cities of Chisinau, Balti, Ungheni, Comrat, Causeni, and Soroca were selected.

IATP is a program of the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs (ECA), US Department of State, funded under the Freedom Support Act (FSA). IATP is administered by IREX, the International Research & Exchanges Board.

IATP began operating in Moldova in 1998. At present, there is one core IATP access site and there are seven independent Internet centers. Every month, over 500 residents of Moldova visit the IATP training laboratory, and over 50 people attend training courses.