Persons and entities who distinguished themselves by activities with a social impact aimed at preventing and fighting discrimination and who promoted equality and social tolerance were awarded at a gala staged by the Council for Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality. The winners received the Equality Award 2019 and diplomas, IPN reports.
The jury that chose the winners consisted of members of the Council and experts of a number of nongovernmental organizations and the Ombudsman’s Office. In the award ceremony, the Council’s head Ian Feldman said the event is held to support the persons who achieved important results in promoting equality last year.
There were five nominations in the category “Most proactive NGO” and the Women’s Law Center that was registered in 2009 became the winner. The Center brings together female jurists from Moldova who plead for ensuring equality between women and men. Violeta Andriuța, lawyer serving with the Center, said such awards are an honor and a responsibility, a motivation for further pleading for equality of rights between women and men in the public life and the private life.
The Center for Continuous Electoral Training working under the Central Election Commission since 2013 was named the most pro-active public institution. The Center focuses on vulnerable groups to support the electoral inclusion of all the persons, especially those with special needs and the ethnic minorities. The award was conferred for the cultivation of a nondiscriminatory attitude among electoral functionaries and implementation of projects intended for voters from specific groups, such as persons with disabilities and detainees. The Center’s director Pavel Kabachenko said the trophy represents appreciation of the effort made by the team to promote equal chances within elections, regardless of the gender, nationality or state of health.
Natalia Ciobanu was awarded in the category “Most active petitioner” for raising a significant discrimination problem with a collective impact. Natalia Ciobanu said it is important that private individuals who go to the Council to defend their rights are also awarded. According to her, the decisions of the Council allow continuing petitioning, especially when it goes to the modification of the legal framework, which is a very difficult process.
The news portal Moldova.org was named the best in the section “Most proactive journalist or media outlet” for publishing materials that promote equality and social tolerance.
There were also handed over two encouragement diplomas for remarkable actions in the prevention and combating of discrimination and ensuring of equality. These went to Eugenia Crețu, who was nominated in the section “Most proactive journalist or media outlet”, and to the Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was nominated in the section “Most proactive NGO”.
