An interactive Telegram chatbot, Village Travel Bot, developed by AO “InnoVillage” with funding from the European Union, offers tourists a new way to explore the authenticity of Moldova’s rural communities. Launched on the 28th of August 2024, the bot features five pilot Moldovan villages, each offering a unique experience to visitors, from discovering natural wonders to weaving carpets. Village Travel Bot (https://t.me/VillageTravel_bot) shows that Moldova has a lot more to offer than just sightseeing in its capital, Chisinau, and wine tasting. The stories and traditions of Moldova’s villages are equally fascinating for young Moldovans and international tourists, and Village Travel Bot ensures that a trip to the countryside will be a unique travel experience. Village Travel Bot is a personal travel assistant and a local guide in one. Through friendly chat, the bot helps users discover lesser-known locations and recommends places to visit based on their interests and preferences. It also helps them customize their journey and connects them with local businesses, to easily book accommodations and activities. Uncommon facts, interactive stories and multimedia content for each of the first 50 sights allow users to explore the rich history and traditions of the pilot villages: Butuceni, Milești, Selemet, Puhăceni, and Gura Bîcului. Tatiana Arcan, Project Manager and Co-Founder of InnoVillage, says, “Village Travel Bot is a digital ambassador for Moldova’s villages. It facilitates the discovery of new destinations and educates users about the rich cultural heritage of these places at the same time. Through this initiative, we hope to contribute to the economic growth of rural communities and offer an unforgettable experience to all who visit Moldova.” Participating communities recognize the potential contribution of this project to revitalise the economic and social development of Moldova’s villages. Ana Plămădeală, Director of the Cultural Center in Puhăceni village, sees Village Travel Bot as an opportunity to showcase local history and traditions in an attractive and accessible way. “We are thrilled to be part of this innovative project, which not only supports local tourism but also contributes to the economic and social development of our community. It’s a joy to see how modern technology can revitalize traditional values and make them accessible to a new generation of tourists,” says Ana. Village Travel Bot is part of the European Union’ broader effort to support digital innovation in the Eastern Partnership countries through the annual EaP Civic Tech Hackathons organised by the EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility project. More information about the EaP Civil Society facility and Civic Tech Hackathons: https://eapcivilsociety.eu/ For further information or more details about "Village Travel Bot", please visit www.villagetravel.md, or contact Tatiana Arcan, Project Manager at AO “InnoVillage,” at innovillage.md@gmail.com , or +37360985329. For further information or more details about the EaP Civil Society Facility please contact Elena Palivoda, Communication Expert of the EU-funded EaP Civil Society Facility project at elena.palivoda@eapcivilsociety.eu .

Two finalists of the 2024 EaP Civic Tech Hackathon, Hayk Asriyants from Georgia and Tatiana Arcan from Moldova have won the EaP Civic Tech Award and secured EU funding to implement and launch their innovative projects. This achievement marks a significant milestone in their journey towards addressing societal challenges and promoting transparency and accountability in the Eastern Partnership countries. Meet the Winning Projects! IntegrityLens Web App, Georgia This solution aims to enhance the accountability of public officials in Georgia and support civil society activists and journalists in their watchdog roles. The IntegrityLens web app will utilize AI-powered image recognition technology to analyse photos of public officials and identify luxury clothing and accessories. By linking users to publicly available databases of property and income declarations, the app will facilitate anti-corruption investigations and promote accountability in Georgia’s public sector. Piloted for the civil society activists and journalists in Georgia, IntegrityLens has remarkable potential for scaling to cover other Eastern Partnership countries. Village Travel Bot, Moldova This project will focus on empowering rural communities in Moldova by promoting local tourism and contributing to the economic development and revival o f Moldovan villages. The Village Travel Bot is a custom Telegram bot that will help users plan and explore rural Moldova, offering educational insights, cultural experiences, and interactive challenges for a unique and immersive travel adventure. The bot will be piloted in five villages in 2024, with the potential for further development and customization for other countries in the region. Both solutions will be launched in the autumn of 2024. With the EaP Civic Tech Award and EU funding in hand, these solutions will exemplify the transformative potential of civic tech in addressing societal challenges and driving positive change. Congratulations to the winners on this well-deserved recognition, and we can’t wait to see their solutions in action! Stay tuned for updates on their progress and impact!

INNOVILLAGE CONTRIBUTES TO DEVELOPING RURAL TOURISM IN MOLDOVA BY EMPOWERING ICT TALENTS FROM MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE UNDP and Adamaszki announce the launch of the InnoVillage project in Moldova, with the goal of facilitating knowledge transfer, skills development, and professional support for creative women professionals. The project supports talent scaling for sustainable tourism. The project will identify and subsequently connect ICT professionals, Ukrainian refugees, and Local Public Authority representatives to join an Innovative Challenging Team. Teams will scale on talent development foreseeing a common goal – contributing to rural tourism sustainability by creating tools to promote villages in Moldova. One of the challenges for sustainable tourism is the contrasting perception of cultural asset value by tourists and the local community. InnoVillage comes to change that in 5 Moldovan Villages! The project aims to contribute to the digitalization of public communication, therefore increasing awareness nationally and internationally (SDG 8 Sustainable tourism). “Engaging in this project alongside our local partners from Moldova is a big step forward in supporting sustainable development through promoting inclusion and innovation. We are grateful that through this project we will be able to share experiences that will contribute to the development of villages and people. Moldova is a beautiful country that deserves to have its heritage better known beyond its borders. We hope that the „InnoVillage” program will be the spark to ignite this tourism potential”, commented Joanna Dzik. Red Pill Investments, the Local Partner, is a consulting agency aiming to empower and scale innovative digital models. ”Inno Village Project aims to discover the highest intersection of talent, skill, and work when Persona reaches their maximum potential at the exact right time in the exact right place. The Programme is a facilitator in this journey and uses appropriate tools and resources to ease the creation of an innovation. Inno Village project will help to empower the local creative potential of the ICT sector and create innovative digital solutions facilitating the expression of our Moldovan authenticity.” relates Mihail Zanevici, Local Partner, and founder of Red Pill Investments LLC. 🤝 The project is carried out in partnership with ANTRIM (National Inbound and Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova), a non-profit organization representing the voice of the private sector in Moldova’s inbound tourism industry. ”We believe in Moldova’s potential. Our mission is to help the country gain international recognition as a tourist destination. With the help of our strategic partners we collaborate with stakeholders to create and deliver high-quality services and authentic touristic experiences by supporting traditional Moldovan values when it comes to hospitality, culture, gastronomy, and quality wine production.” shares Elena Stepanov, ANTRIM’s representative.

INNOVILLAGE PROJECT COLLABORATION WITH STATE UNIVERSITY OF MOLDOVA "By joining forces, during the period of March to June 2023, six undergraduate students majoring in Marketing and Logistics, Hospitality, Tourism, and Leisure Services, one Ph.D. student, and three professors collaborated to create digital solutions for promoting the villages of Puhăceni (Anenii Noi) and Temeleuți (Călărași). Considering the excellent results achieved and the practical value gained through thematic workshops, study visits, and mentoring sessions aimed at facilitating knowledge transfer and creative skills relative skills development, the Department of Economics, Marketing, and Tourism at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the State University of Moldova has decided to conceptualize the Semester Project within the Master's Program in Hotel Management and Tourism Marketing, following the InnoVillage program model. As a result, the Master’s students will have the opportunity to unlock their creative potential by leveraging the opportunities provided by this program. The Master's Program Semester Project includes 60 hours of practical work to identify solutions to real-world challenges generated by labor market representatives using the Problem-Based Learning method. We are delighted that InnoVillage Mentors will continue to support our students!" Autho r: Veronica Bulat, Ph.D. in Economics, Associate Professor, State University of Moldova

INNOVILLAGE IS EMPOWERING TALENTS FROM MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE We are glad to share that during the period 28 March – 18 April 2023, InnoVillage Program provided a series of thematic workshops to facilitate knowledge transfer and talent upskilling. InnoVillage beneficiaries acquired new knowledge, and skills and shared valuable ideas during 4 online workshops with international trainers. The Evaluation workshop with Tatiana Lupascu helped InnoVillage talents to understand what geolocation means, how to seek potential in your village, and to design the first draft of your touristic destination. The Storytelling Workshop with Joanna Dzik introduced talents to new tools and techniques to create impactful stories. The Tech Upgrade workshop with Aneta Dzik and Kasia Wagrowska showed the talents how to enter the film world with a digital solution and how to become successful in the online world via the most impactful communication tools. The Product and Talent scaling workshop with Eugen Boico brought to talents' attention value creation, customer discovery, and market growth. During the next 2 months, 5 international mentors will help the Teams overcome their professional limitations and develop 5 digital solutions to be used by the Local Public Authorities and Local Talents to promote their village. Soon, registered workshops will be available on InnoVillage Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@innovillage/videos For the next news follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn . The project InnoVillage - talent scaling for sustainable tourism is implemented in Moldova by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Polish Challenge Fund, with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.