OSCE continues to train law students to support access to primary legal aid
On 13 and 14 July 2017, the OSCE Mission to Moldova organized a training event for 15 law students from Balti, Cahul and Chisinau to improve their skills in providing free legal aid in Moldova. The training focused on honing students’ ability to conduct public presentations that convey easily understood messages on what the legal aid system is and how individuals can use it to seek solutions to various existing legal problems.
The event followed up on a previous one in June, in which the participants were taught essential public speaking skills. They now had the opportunity to develop and deliver their own presentations on particular legal issues affecting their communities. They then received feedback on how to improve their presentations by engaging the public’s attention and including more practical examples. Special emphasis was placed on the need to include a gender perspective and on how the students can demonstrate that they would be able to represent the different needs of men and women in any legal matter.
“This training event has enabled me to provide people with valuable practical information that will ultimately contribute to improving the legal culture in our society,” noted Aliona Barbascumpa, a law student from Chisinau.
In the coming months, teams of law students and paralegals will organize a series of public presentations in rural communities throughout Moldova in order to raise awareness of the existing legal aid system.
The training event is part of a project implemented jointly by the OSCE Mission to Moldova and the Chisinau-based Institute for Penal Reform that aims to ensure that citizens have access to legal information and are able to assert their rights.