Project InnoVillage Program – talent scaling for sustainable tourism

The InnoVillage project is implemented in Moldova by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Polish Challenge Fund, with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland from December 2022 to June 2023. The project is carried out by ANTRIM (National Association of Inbound and Domestic Tourism in Moldova), a non-profit organization representing the voice of the private sector in the tourism industry in Moldova.

The project aims to facilitate knowledge transfer, skills development, and provide professional support for creative women. It supports the growth of talents for the sustainability of tourism. The project identifies and connects professionals in the ICT industry, refugees from Ukraine, and representatives of local authorities to join the Creative and Innovation Team formed within the project.

Teams are tasked with nurturing and developing talents, pursuing a common goal – to contribute to the sustainability of rural tourism by creating digital solutions to promote villages in Moldova. In the InnoVillage project, 6 first-year Bachelor’s degree students in Marketing and Logistics; Hospitality Services, Tourism, and Recreation; 1 Ph.D. student, 3 professors, and the Dean of the Faculty of Economic Sciences as the group coordinator participate (confirmation of the USM team’s participation in the project is attached). The USM team is involved in developing digital promotion solutions for the villages of Puhăceni (Anenii Noi) and Temeleuți (Călărași) in the project. The USM team participates in the project at the invitation of ANTRIM, based on the Memorandum of Cooperation.

To achieve its objectives, the InnoVillage project has organized a series of thematic workshops and mentoring sessions to facilitate knowledge transfer and skills development through co-creation between project teams and experts from Poland. Over four months, international mentors help teams overcome professional limitations and develop a set of digital tools intended to be used by the Local Public Authority and Local Talents to promote their village. Additionally, teams participate in study visits to the respective villages for the accumulation of promotional content, benefiting from informational support and infrastructure to fulfill project tasks.

The students’ activities in this project have been reflected on the Department of Economics, Marketing, and Tourism’s page (April 2, March 19), as well as on the official networks of the InnoVillage project: Facebook and LinkedIn.