Anita Shukla, (M.A.), founder & CEO of India-EU training and consulting  is a seasoned
strategy consultant, speaker, senior corporate trainer, executive coach, advisor & author
based in Hamburg, Germany.

As an intercultural pro in tech, a specialist on global collaboration, Human Resource
development, tech recruitment & Cross-cultural management in technology with EU-India
focus and with 30 years of work experience she has been consulting numerous European
corporations operating globally, from MNCs in automotive, IT and energy to technology
startups, especially those with India in focus and likewise supported major Indian and Asian
technology corporations in their successful operations in Europe preparing teams and male
and female leaders for global business in tech.
She earned a humanity degree after studying at the Universities of Münster and Hamburg,
Germany (Magistra Artium; M.A. in 2005) and has since then studied numerous fields of
technology like AI, management and entrepreneurship.
Anita Shukla is currently a strategic partner of Expandeers Global Network, Global Business
Development made in Germany, WomenTech Network Council Member and Country Chair
Germany of the Women leaders network G100, Global Networking Wing. Her memberships
also include Women in AI, Women in AI and Robotics and Hanseatic India Forum, among
others. Before this she has held the positions of – Senior Advisor India of the Bundesverband
Mittelständische Wirtschaft (BVMW), the SME Association of Germany (2015-2018), Vice
President of SIETAR Germany, a global Cross Cultural organization (2012-2015), and Chair,
India Council, of the German Outsourcing Association (2011-2012).
She is a sought-after speaker, moderator & panelist at onsite & virtual conferences,
forums and trade fairs. Her article “People to People Connect in India-EU ties: Tech, AI &
Diversity“ has been published in the ORCA/WICCI India – EU Business Council publication „
Building the future of EU-India Strategic Partnership – between trade, technology, security
and China“ . More information on webinars, like on AI & gender, interviews – like on AI &
leadership, workshops on cross cultural communication in tech, talks – like on the  EU-India
Trade and Technology Council, Gender Equality and Diversity in Tech, events and
publications can be found on LinkedIn and Brainguide.

Rajni Vohra: In your opinion, what are the most pressing challenges that women in
technology face today, and how can these challenges be addressed?

Anita Shukla: I ‘d like to start by saying that there are numerous challenges and at the same time
tremendous chances for women in tech, in particular in AI. Like in other industries, a
gender pay gap still exists in tech – at 25 % in Germany and 26% in the EU –
affecting junior employees the most. In Europe, a new EU directive on equal pay and
pay transparency is an important step ahead to change this. Women are confronted
with challenges of many kinds throughout their career and on various levels such as
gender bias and discrimination. Research shows that, in general, up to 80% of
women jobs may be automated by 2030, for example in administration. Along with it,
a great deal of new jobs will be created. It is obvious that upskilling, reskilling plus a
genuine openness for tech and AI will be key. Women are needed as creators and
shapers in many fields of AI, for example in Ethics, cyber security or Healthcare in AI
since they understand women and women’s´ needs and challenges best. Progresses
in femtech demonstrate that. An increased media attention is given to Equal Pay Day
(In 2024 on March 6th in Germany) and International Women’s Day. The German
Equal Pay Award is in its third year already. The more successful women in tech will
be seen and listened to, be it in politics, academia, or business, the better existing
challenges will be envisaged, tackled and even overcome.

Rajni Vohra: What role do mentorship and networking play in supporting the career
development of women in technology?

Anita Shukla:Various women networks offer extremely valuable support to female graduates,
employees and entrepreneurs, not the least to female executives and women in tech.
I would know examples of women networks and companies that offer remarkable
mentoring programs for women. Networking nowadays is of paramount importance, it
works regionally and globally, onsite and virtual. Promising career opportunities can
arise in many parts of the world. Globally oriented, strong supportive networks for
example for women leaders and for women in tech and AI are there to help. I recently
highlighted the manifold opportunities across geographies for female experts,
scientists and entrepreneurs in tech and AI as part of a publication on the  EU-India
strategic partnership.

Rajni Vohra:  How can companies create a more inclusive workplace culture for women in
technology, and what role can technology itself play in fostering inclusivity?

Anita Shukla: It all starts with the culture, the values of the company, the hiring of more women,
particularly in relevant tech and finance roles, having a diverse executive team.
Investing in diversity pays off. Companies investing in diversity are also more
profitable. According to recent findings there is more inclusion in the tech industry
than in numerous others. Especially large companies make an effort, many Programs
on Diversity and Inclusion as well as on women´s leadership etc. exist. Considering
the constant war for tech talents, a lot remains to be done. AI used the right way can
play a major role, reduce human biases, add to more fairness. For this we need more
women as specialists as well as in AI leadership positions.

Rajni Vohra: What is your approach to continuous learning and professional
development?

Anita Shukla: As mentioned, in the future of work, even more than today, there will be the need for continuous learning & flexibility. Interestingly, with AI, robotics automation becoming more dominant, both technical & soft- skills – know – how will be imperative”

We should not lose our human qualities, though. Empathy & Ethics are
so important. People skills will be valued. Still, I believe that a general understanding
of AI will be a must, both for one´s professional as well as one´s personal life. If one
can build expertise, be able to combine one´s special skills in a certain field like say,
sustainability, with it, so much the better. I personally have always enjoyed learning
& interdisciplinary work. More than twenty years ago, at university, I became
member of a technical student organisation promoting soft skills for tech students,
trainings in Europe & the organisation of tech job fairs, while studying humanities.
Later in my career I worked for IT – companies & associations, learned more on
programming & AI & as senior consultant & trainer I have been working with
globally operating IT- clients ever since, preparing their teams & executives, male
& female, for change, new markets & intercultural collaboration.

Rajni Vohra: Can you share an example from your experience where technology and tech
companies played a crucial role in advancing opportunities for women ?

Anita Shukla:I could think of various apps in human resources but would like to mention the fact
that certain platforms like meetup & eventbrite made it much easier for international
tech talent & women in tech in particular to connect, visit all sorts of events, for
example join hackathons & start coding, discover career & training opportunities
& much more.

I remember witnessing the ( financial ) support of companies of all
sizes, & the initiative of their employees, from tech giants to innovative startups
who understood the need for new female talent & who hence made it possible that
interested & talented women, of many nationalities, would have access to
resources of multiple kinds for their career advancements & for learning  & development.

Rajni Vohra: Thank you for sharing your insights during this interview. I truly appreciate your efforts in AI and empowering women.

 

Meet Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu, an innovative leader and global influencer. Originating from Abia state, Nigeria, with roots extending to Plateau state, Prayer’s remarkable journey from modest beginnings fuels her steadfast dedication to making a difference on a global scale.

As the Founder and CEO of Naza Agape Foundation, Prayer has pioneered initiatives impacting over 15,000 lives worldwide, primarily within Nigeria. Her foundation’s efforts encompass education, welfare, and empowerment, particularly targeting marginalized communities.

With a fervent commitment to women’s empowerment, Prayer co-founded Girlified, a company specializing in eco-friendly sanitary pads, combating plastic pollution while addressing period poverty. Her dedication to sustainability aligns seamlessly with her advocacy for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Prayer’s leadership journey commenced at Covenant University, where she held significant roles, notably as Vice-Chair Female of the Student Council. With over 6 years of impactful service as a Humanitarian Aid worker, she has demonstrated her dedication to serving others.

Her influence extends to her roles as a Cabinet Minister at the Republic of Women, the world’s first borderless digital state for women, and as a trustee and member of SACDN. Active engagement with organizations like World Pulse and participation in the Leap Leadership Institute’s Young Women Leaders Programme further exemplify her commitment to driving positive change.

Prayer’s outstanding contributions have earned her recognition, including the Nigeria Magazine International Women’s Day Award and features in the ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes Series.’ She is an advocate for positive change, a compelling public speaker, and fervently dedicated to spreading messages of hope and humanity worldwide.

Rajni Vohra: Your work in humanitarian aid spans over six years, impacting over 18,000 lives worldwide. Can you share a particular moment or project that stood out to you and was particularly impactful, and how did it shape your approach to humanitarian efforts?

Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu: The most impactful project was our intervention in the aftermath of a crisis in Plateau State; witnessing the resilience of the affected communities, especially women and children, left an unforgettable mark on me. It reinforced the importance of empowering local communities and tailoring our aids to their needs. This experience shaped our approach at Naza Agape Foundation to focus on sustainable solutions like long-term impact rather than short-term relief and community engagement.

Rajni Vohra: As the Founder and CEO of Naza Agape Foundation and Co-founder of Girlified, you’ve been actively involved in championing UN SDGs and #GirlChild Education. Can you elaborate on the strategies and initiatives your organisation has undertaken to advance these goals and the outcomes you have witnessed so far?

Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu: Naza Agape Foundation* and *Girlified* have employed a multitrack approach, including scholarship programs, mentorship initiatives, and awareness campaigns. Through strategic partnerships, we’ve expanded our reach, providing education and empowerment opportunities. Notably, we’ve seen increased enrollment of girls in schools and a positive shift in community attitudes towards girls’ education. Our mentorship programs have also contributed to building confidence and leadership skills among young girls.

Rajni Vohra: Being a member of ForbesBLK is a significant achievement; how has this recognition influenced your work, and what advice do you have for others aspiring to impact the humanitarian sector positively and beyond?

Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu: ForbesBLK recognition has amplified the visibility of our initiatives, opening doors to valuable collaborations and partnerships. My advice to others is: – Stay true to your mission – Build a strong network and leverage your unique strengths. – Authenticity and perseverance are key. – Recognize the power of collaboration and be open to learning from diverse perspectives.

Rajni Vohra: Your leadership roles are quite a lot, including your role as a Cabinet Minister at ROW, which demonstrates your commitment to making a difference at a broader scale. How do you balance the responsibilities of these diverse roles, and what skills do you believe are crucial for effective leadership in humanitarian aid and global initiatives?

Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu: Balancing diverse roles requires – Effective time management – Delegation and a strong support team. Crucial leadership skills include – Adaptability – Empathy and – Effective communication, especially about a compelling vision. – Leaders in humanitarian aid must navigate complexities, foster collaboration, and remain agile in response to evolving challenges. – Emotional intelligence and a genuine passion for making a positive impact are also paramount.

Rajni Vohra: With your extensive experience, particularly as the CEO of Naza Agape Foundation, how do you envision the future of humanitarian aid and its role in global development? Are there emerging trends or approaches that you find particularly promising or challenging?

Prayer Nwagboso Ikegwuonu: The future of humanitarian aid lies in – Innovative and sustainable solutions that address root causes. – Leveraging technology for efficient resource allocation – Prioritising community-led development and – Fostering cross-sector partnerships is a promising trend. However, the challenge lies in addressing systemic issues and ensuring aid efforts contribute to long-term resilience rather than perpetuating dependency on short-term solutions. Balancing innovation with cultural sensitivity will be crucial for meaningful and lasting impact.

Rajni Vohra:Thank you for the thought-provoking exchange.

 

Professor Vibhuti Patel, a distinguished academician and social scientist, served as a former professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) during 2017-2020 and SNDT Women’s University in Mumbai from 2004-2017. Throughout her rich and extensive career, Prof. Patel made significant contributions to various academic and advisory roles.Actively involved in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), she served as a member of the Technical Advisory Group since 2011, focusing on the project “Enhancing male participation for improving gender equality in Maharashtra. Her significant contributions include involvement in the Seventh Survey on Education Research by NCERT and the Human Development Report for Greater Mumbai. With specialties in coordinating women’s studies and development programs, Prof. Vibhuti Patel exemplifies a lifelong dedication to education, gender studies, and social development, emphasizing her commitment to fostering positive change and promoting gender equality.

Rajni Vohra: You have worked extensively in the field of women and economics throughout your
career, what research areas within women and economics are currently gaining
attention in India?

Vibhuti Patel: Feminist economics as a discipline emerged in the 70s with the rise of the women’s movement. The movement at that time was aimed at fighting various forms of discrimination and injustice meted out to women in all sectors of the economy. The only way to bring about systemic changes was through studying those problems deeply to identify structures and systems that perpetuated discrimination and economic exploitation and in this way ‘Gender Economics’ emerged as a discipline. This discipline has a clear-cut mandate to challenge the subordination of women and the patriarchal controls over sexuality, fertility, labour amongst other issues. Gender economics provides framework to that transcends gender binary and is inclusive of gender non-conforming non-binary persons and communities. It is important to understand that economic behaviour is determined by gender stereotypes in politics, customs, tradition, institutional ethos which have a tremendous influence on the economic and market behaviour. The markets are socially constructed. The same gendered subjugations in tradition gets replicated in the labour market, product market and factor market as well. If you don’t invest in  a girl/transgender children in terms of health, nutrition, education and skills, then obviously, they will have very limited opportunity in the economy. They will end up doing work in the informal sector which is a monotonous dead-end kind of job. Moreover, the transgender person will not even get an employment due to social stigma. When it comes to women’s labour in terms of unpaid care work or housework of cooking, cleaning, elderly/child care; it remains invisible, non-recognised and classified as un-productive work. Even non-market livelihood activities such as collection of fuel-fodder-water, kitchen gardening, animal care that augment family resources get non-recognised as work and are deemed non-work. 

Rajni Vohra: In your opinion, what role should social sciences play in addressing societal issues and promoting positive change?

Vibhuti Patel: It is only through engendering social sciences and addressing societal issues such as socialisation of children, content of education, access to resources for development, safety, elimination discriminatory practices through legislations and evidence based policy formulation and implementation, teaching-training-research-documentation can bring transformative change for gender equality.    It is necessary to know that very important issue in gender economics i.e. the demography of gender. Gender economists study how various economic factors like sex ratio, maternal-mortality, child mortality, life expectancy, work participation rate, etc. play an important role in determining human development indicators which are about the population, work participation, educational opportunities and career choices , decision making in the family-community-workplace and politics.

Rajni Vohra: How do you inspire and engage students in the study of social sciences, considering its dynamic and interdisciplinary nature?

Vibhuti Patel:There are several ways in which I inspire students to proactively engage in teaching-learning and research. I have experienced enthusiastic response from the students by encouraging them to reflect on economic reality around  them and critically reflecting on their daily grind and connecting them with path of economic development, social and physical infrastructure, budgetary allocations in classroom discussions, choosing topics for group project work that demand research on contemporary economic challenges, discussion on newspaper articles and reports, organising study tour of community based organisations dedicated to economic empowerment of women, assignments of book-reviews and debates on economic policies, programmes, schemes through gender lens. For instance, understanding of gender audits of budgets are highly important for students. This means that whatever gender related commitments the state is making has to be translated into financial commitments. Plus, it also raises the question as to how to bend the forces of markets in favour of intersectionally vulnerable people as there is segmentation in the markets. Caste, class, race, religion, ethnicity, geographical location – whether you are in urban or rural or tribal area, are you in remote place or well connected through infrastructure – all play a significant role in the predicament of women and gender minorities in the economy. So, the gender economists have commitment to ensure that gender audit of the economic and social conditions.  Next, Gender planning and policy-making are required on the basis of situational analysis through gender lens and identification of practical gender needs and strategic gender needs.  Gender economists have played a splendid role in bending the power structures to enable women to top leadership positions so that they can challenge patriarchal biases at that level. On the other hand, there are women who at the community level build pressure and demand more space for themselves within the economy. Gender economists are dedicated to the bottom-up approach, this means- promotion of  Gender Responsive Participatory Budget making backed by gender transformative financial policy. It basically involves sitting with the community, identifying their needs and coming up with a micro-plan. It also involves capacity building of women elected representatives and administrators in governance structures.   Thus, policies that encourage more and more women in the government can change the economic behaviour and ultimately solve the economic problems of the village, tehsil, district, state, nation and region. It can also foster global solidarities. We can learn these from the best practices from around the world.

Rajni Vohra: How do you assess the impact of the 2024 budget on advancing the status of women in society?

Vibhuti Patel: The interim budget serves as a framework for managing provisional expenditures over a short duration, till the new government is formed after the general election and it will take office at the central level. So the interim budget presented on 2-2-2024 by the Hon. Finance Minister is meant to meet the financial requirements and tackle revenue considerations of the current government during this interim period. Following the inauguration of the new government, a comprehensive budget for the remaining portion of the fiscal year will be typically presented in July, 2024.

In the post-independence period, India has implemented a range of major social sector initiatives to address various challenges and improve the well-being of its citizens that covers areas such as education, healthcare, women’s empowerment, rural development, skill development, employment, special needs of socio-economic marginalised communities such as SCs, STs, PWD, lonely elderly from the poverty groups.

Major challenges faced for the gender and social sector concerns in the current times are youth unemployment in the urban, rural and tribal areas, low work participation rate for women, food inflation and agrarian distress. Former RBI governor, Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao, in his edit page article in The Times of India, on 30-1-2024 alerted the government, and I quote, “Consequence of jobless growth is inequality.” He also avers that, by using the instruments of policies and financial allocation of the interim budget 2024-25 and fiscal measures for enhancing purchasing power of the bottom 50% of population can be enhanced, This will result into huge consumption that will result in more production, more employment resulting in higher quality of economic growth and reduce inequality.

The interim budget ignores social spending in favour of capital expenditure. Over last one decade, there has been a continuous the trend of declining expenditure of the Union Budget for schemes for protective and welfare schemes such as Shelter homes, short stay homes, Rehabilitation schemes for women survivors of violence, Pensions for widows and destitute women, Directly benefiting women, Crisis management of situations arising out of economic and socio-cultural subordination and dehumanization of women; social service spending on education, public health, crèche, working women’s hostels, housing, nutrition, water supply, sanitation-toilets, drainage, fuel, fodder and regulatory services for combat gender based violence such as funds for  State Commission for Women, Women’s cell at the police stations, Awareness generation programmes. Social sectors that ensure basic rights have declined as a proportion of GDP.  

Rajni Vohra: What message would you convey to an educated Indian middle-class woman who, due to domestic responsibilities, cannot engage in a conventional 9 to 5 job, yet retains a strong sense of ambition and passion?

Vibhuti Patel: The educated Indian middle class women need to get out of their atomised existence and become a vociferous community to further rights of all women. Their strong sense of ambition and passion can result in positive societal role only when they collectively strive for equal opportunity and equal treatment in the family, in the society, in the employment. They need to speak out about sharing of housework and care work by all family members, not by women alone. They need to inculcate practices of gender equality among their children. They should raise issues of removal gender biases in the textbook and officially discuss safety concerns of students in the parent-teachers meeting. In their social gathering, they should not allow any sexist-casteist-communal- homophobic remarks. Educated middle class women have a great responsibility towards responsible citizenship guided by constitutional morality. They can also support community based organisations in mentoring children from the underserved sections of society by volunteering their time for education and skill development.    

Rajni Vohra: Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights and expertise during this interview. Your vast knowledge and valuable perspectives as an educationist and renowned economist have been truly enlightening. I appreciate the depth of your responses and the thoughtful way you approached each question. It has been a privilege to learn from you, and I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in this insightful conversation. Thank you again for your time and generosity in sharing your wealth of experience.

 

Olga Cebotari is a distinguished political figure in Moldova, currently a diplomat, served with distinction as the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Republic of Moldova, leaving an indelible mark on the nation’s political landscape. Cebotari emerged as a key player in shaping Moldova’s political and socio-economic trajectory through her contributions, and many notable achievements. This interview aims to shed light on her remarkable contributions during her time as Deputy Prime Minister, showcasing her dedication to public services and leadership. Additionally, this conversation is an endeavour to explore the influence of the current geopolitical scenario on Moldova, while embracing multiculturism with diversity.

Rajni Vohra: During your time in government, what policies or initiatives were you most proud of, and how did they impact the country and its citizens?

Olga Cebotari: During my mandate as Deputy Prime Minister for reintegration, I was responsible for the Transnistrian issue, which is a very complex one. During my mandate, I ensured continuity in the promotion of the country’s reintegration policies, the implementation of support measures for the residents on both banks of the Dniester, the coordination of relevant national institutions and had a productive dialogue with external partners on various aspects related to the Transnistrian issue. As the main negotiator from the side of Chisinau, I kept all existing negotiation formats active and prolific. I was in permanent contact with the central and local public authorities and made several visits to the localities in the perimeter of the Security Zone, documenting in detail the existing problems on the Transnistrian dimension and facilitating the identification of viable solutions to them.

In the first month of the mandate, I managed to mark the first major result, thanks to the intense dialogue with the actors of the “5+2” format, thus at the 26th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council that took place on 3-4 December 2020, a new Declaration was approved on the negotiations in the Transnistrian settlement process in the “5+2” format, which reaffirmed the firm position of the OSCE participating states to identify a comprehensive, peaceful and sustainable solution to the Transnistrian conflict, based on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, in its internationally recognized borders and with the granting of a special legal status to the localities in the eastern districts of the country.

Together with my team, I managed to relaunch the activity of the Working Groups in the field of health protection, which, despite the pandemic, had not convened for almost a year. The relaunch of the activity of this Group allowed for a positive evolution and collaboration in the process of implementing joint measures on both banks of the Dniester to protect public health against the risks generated by COVID-19 and to immunize the population, manifested by the redirection of donations received in the address The Republic of Moldova has multiple batches of medical items and high-performance equipment in hospitals in the region, and from the humanitarian aid provided to the Republic of Moldova and from the purchases made from budgetary resources, more than 180 thousand doses of vaccine against COVID-19 have been redistributed in the Transnistrian region. Also, during that period, it was possible to ensure the free movement of people, despite the complicated situation in the health field.

We also ensured the mobilization of the efforts of the national authorities responsible for the implementation of the National Action Plan for the years 2018-2021 regarding the implementation of Resolution 1325 of the UN Security Council on women, peace and security, and also on my initiative, after a four year break, I relaunched the activity of the Governmental Commission for Equality between Women and Men in order to launch new impulses in the promotion of gender policies for the next period.

I note with regret that the efforts to maintain a constant dialogue with the authorities of the Transnistrian region to improve the relations between the two banks did not have a prodigious continuity. The discussions held within the traditional “5+2” format reached a deadlock due to an objective cause – the war in Ukraine. Chisinau believes that this format will not be able to be “reanimated” even after the end of the conflict. During 2023, there were only two meetings of political representatives, held either in Tiraspol or in Bender. The refusal of Tiraspol to participate in the meetings in Chisinau seems to be associated with the amendments brought by the Moldovan authorities to the Criminal Code, also known as the “law of separatism”. The rare meetings of this kind reflect the general dynamics of the negotiation process which are not at all gratifying.

Rajni Vohra: As a prominent figure in Moldovan politics, how do you see the role of women in leadership positions, and what steps do you think should be taken to encourage greater gender equality in political and public spheres?

Olga Cebotari: Women’s involvement in politics and social life is becoming more and more demanded. In the last decades, the role of women in politics is steadily growing. It is recognized that women are more adaptable and handle the crisis much better. However, women continue to be underrepresented in decision-making positions. At the beginning of 2023, in the Republic of Moldova, the participation of women in decision-making in the Parliament reveals a representation of 38.6%, compared to 31.0% at the European level and 26.5% at the global level. Recently, great successes have been registered in the Republic of Moldova, as a number of legislative initiatives in the field of gender equality have been approved. The number of women holding managerial positions increased. The number of women who became deputies, members of the government or high-ranking persons doubled. Although in previous years the Republic of Moldova advanced in the field of ensuring gender equality in socio-economic and political life, in 2023 a slight regression is registered. Moldova dropped three positions compared to last year in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Inequality Report, from 16th to 19th out of 146 countries. Despite some gaps that exist on the side of gender equality in the upper echelons of power, I believe that the Republic of Moldova is well positioned in this regard.

Even though I fully support and encourage the active participation of women in political and social life, I emphasize that women must occupy high, leadership positions, responsible positions exclusively based on meritocracy and in no way because it is now in vogue to promote the principles of gender equality. Empowering women in politics is crucial as it means a more representative democracy. We, as society, and the government should encourage and support women to run for office through training programs and tutorship opportunities. Ladies with political ambitions should be offered flexible working arrangements and child-care facilities to balance career and family duties. Another way to stimulate the empowering of women is restricting access to public funding to those parties that include a certain proportion of women on party lists.

Rajni Vohra: How do you envision the future of Moldova in terms of its integration into regional and global networks? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in this regard?

Olga Cebotari: Encouraged by the geopolitical situation established in the last two years, in the near future Moldova will try on this wave and together with Ukraine to join the European Union. The opening of the accession negotiations of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union is indeed a historic moment, and should imply for Moldovan citizens a state of law, more economic and commercial opportunities. On the other hand, we must rationally analyse what will be the effect of this integration on the sovereignty and neutrality of the state. It is important to underline that the opening of accession negotiations is a political decision and less based on meritocracy, and we are witnesses of several failed reforms, especially in the field of justice. Despite the fact that I encourage the political elites of the Republic of Moldova to set a deadline to achieve its desired European integration, the government’s statements such as that accession can be achieved in 2030 seem rushed and unfounded.

Looking into the statistics, we see that in 2022, 50.9% of those interviewed were ready to vote in a referendum for joining the EU. Before 2022, the European integration rating varied between 55% and 60%. Experts believe that the indicators are influenced by the unsatisfactory results of the reforms carried out by the ruling party, which actively promotes the European agenda. Trust in the current government is undermined, that is why European integration as a vector may continue to suffer, including because of such initiatives as the simultaneous organization of elections and the referendum on joining the EU. while the simultaneous holding of elections and referendum may be appropriate from a practical point of view, confusion between the matters of the elections and those of the referendum should be avoided.

Let’s not forget about the Transnistrian region and the over 300,000 citizens of the Republic of Moldova who live on the left bank and the practical way of integrating this territory with the right bank, because European integration without the Transnistrian region is irresponsible and dangerous as a precedent. Issues related to European integration have not yet been addressed in any negotiation format, but Euroscepticism is well known among the Transnistrian people.

At the same time, I consider it important to reach a national consensus on the idea of European integration and to take into account all ethnicities and all the diversity of the Republic of Moldova, because the Republic of Moldova has approximately a quarter of the population that identifies itself as part of a minority ethnic group.

Rajni Vohra: Moldova has a diverse cultural and linguistic landscape. How do you think the government can foster unity and inclusivity among different communities within the country?

Olga Cebotari: Cultural diversity stands for solidarity strengthening and the promotion of the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence through collaboration. By bringing the multicultural community together, our people can build mutual understanding and respect. They can learn from each other’s stories, traditions, and values, but also embrace the similarities and differences that make us unique and valuable. Embracing multiculturalism and encouraging social inclusion is not a threat to Moldovan identity or success, but an opportunity to enrich our society.

Unfortunately, last year, we witnessed politicians, members of the Parliament speaking Russian language, being constrained in the television studios and not being allowed to join debated by expressing themselves in Russian. More recently, at the end of last year, a draft law was voted on the publication and entry into force of official acts, according to which all documents of the authorities will be published in the Official Monitor exclusively in Romanian. In the territories where persons belonging to a national minority constitute a considerable part of the population, the documents of the local public administration authorities starting from the current year are published in Romanian and, as the case may be, with a translation into the language of the respective minority. In this sense, in the case of Gagauzia, documents will no longer be issued in Russian, but only in Romanian and Gagauz. Moreover, the latest trends are really sad – insufficient resources are allocated for ethnic minorities that live in Moldova to learn their mother tongues: Gagauz, Bulgarian and Ukrainian.

I consider that the educational system must have as its primary task the cultivation of the self-identity of the people as multiculturalism can contribute to the development of a common culture if the educational system, under the conditions of diversity, would allow both socialization in the culture of the minorities and their familiarization with the traditions of the coexisting cultures, in parallel with the promotion of tolerance and mutual respect between the majority and minority communities. The well-being and development of the Republic of Moldova must be the common point towards which all citizens will strive, regardless of ethnicity and the language spoken. Only a common goal at the national level would increase unity, acceptance and cooperation between representatives of different ethnic groups. No less important is to allow and even encourage national minorities to preserve and pass on the traditions, culture and language they possess to the younger generation.

Rajni Vohra: Looking back at your political career, what advice would you give to young individuals aspiring to enter politics, especially women who may face unique challenges in this field?

Olga Cebotari:I truly advocate for a balanced representation of women in politics based on merit.  Self-doubt, stereotypes that „politics is for men” and other reservations prevent women from going into politics. For ladies who aspire to a political career, combining career and personal life is challenging, but not impossible. It’s primordial for us, women, to preserve and multiply successful projects, creative initiatives through which we can contribute qualitatively to the development of our country. Let us not be afraid to occupy positions of real decision-making power. Women, by nature, are skilled communicators and negotiators. Women who dedicate themselves to political life, through involvement, courage, creativity, have to bring something new to society and conspire to build a better future for coming generations, for our children. I believe that we, the women who are involved in politics, through our own model, must also inspire other women to raise their visibility in political life and become vocal.

Rajni Vohra: I appreciate your valuable time and the thoughtful responses you provided.