Civic Impulse #5: Monthly Review of Grantee Activities
May 2025
We are happy to say that May was one of those months when CSOs worked hard, achieving visible results in the areas that concern all of us.
The biggest impulse came from education. The Ministry of Education accepted the initiative of the Forum for Reasonable Policies, the Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities and BIRS to introduce a central register of state subsidized students that study or have studies abroad. The new register will make following of their academic and professional development easier, but it will also connect them with institutions and companies looking for professionals with those qualifications. For the first time, this tool approximates the state to a strategy that really brings knowledge back home. This recommendation comes from the analysis Interweaving Education – a research that opens the topic of networking the education, science and knowledge-based economy.
Youth issues were the topic in Prilep as well. The Youth Council of Prilep organized the second sector workshop with young people, representatives of the municipality and CSOs. The discussion focused on how to strengthen the participation of the young people in local policy creation, especially in education and the employment opportunities.
The education was the topic of a public debate in Tetovo, where ANTIKO and the high school group NIMBUS opened an essential issue at the panel debate – Do we prepare the students for the future?. More than 160 participants were involved in a discussion on the education system reforms, its challenged and possibilities. The informal group “Loud Youth” also worked with dedication, organizing a panel discussion for children with disabilities, with the participation of more than 110 education professionals, parents and representatives of local authorities.
The inclusion of gender perspective is crucial for fair and inclusive programmes that leave lasting changes in the communities. In May, ANTIKO and its partner organizations implemented the third two-day training in Struga, on the topic of: Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects and Programmes connecting representatives of grassroot organizations from all eight planning regions.
Parallelly, the Center for Civic Initiatives (CCI), together with their partners, implemented the Equality Caravan, which travelled through Prilep, Dolneni, Mogila, Novaci and Krivogashtani. The theme of gender equality was brought close to citizens with activities and conversations. In the same context, Loud Textile Worker from Shtip, EHO Educational and Humanitarian Organization and the Initiative of Unemployed Intellectuals INI from Vinica organized a workshop for women’s participation in local policy creation and implementation with more than 50 women and men from Shtip, Delchevo and Vinica.
In the area of ecology and environment protection, the activists were present almost everywhere. On 15th May – the International Day for Climate Protection, Eco Logic organised the first scientific caravan with students from “Vlado Tasevski” primary school from Skopje, and together with Florozon and the Centre for Environment Resources (REC) also organized the first public debate on biowaste management in the municipality of Gjorche Petrov. The discussions opened important issues on the challenges and potentials in the local biowaste management.
On the same topic, textile waste has received a new dimension via the campaign of the Centre for Climate Changes and the youth organization Kreativ from Kavadarci. With the support of the municipality of Negotino and “Eco Tex” company, there was a collection action and an old clothes bazar at the city square, and more than 100 kilograms of clothes found new owners, instead of being thrown away. At the same time, the National Roma Centre, in partnership with “Kocho Racin” primary school and the municipality of Kumanovo, conducted educational sessions for students for waste selection and responsible waste management.
The engagement in this area did not stop here. The Centre for Climate Changes conducted monitoring in all 81 municipalities in Macedonia, following the transparency and activities connected to the Green Agenda. At the same time, together with its partners, it organized two regional forums – one for waste management in the Pelagonija and South-West region and another one for sustainable agriculture, in the Eastern region.
As part of the project “Let’s Learn about Climate Changes!”, the young people from Struga, Ohrid and Debar had Youth Info Centres for Climate Changes, where they can be informed, educated and also initiate eco-actions. In Strumica and Skopje, the organizations “KRIK”, “Hope” and Association of Social Workers of Macedonia (ZSRM) held trainings on Green Advocacy via Green Social and Youth Work, preparing the participants to initiate local eco-initiatives with specific, sustainable steps.
In the area of transparency and fight against corruption, the Center for Civic Communications works on using the data from the Real Owners’ Register. At the workshop on possibilities and obstacles to using these data, they presented the findings of the recent research to reveal potential conflict of interest and abuse with 360 elected and appointed officials.
The mCommunity platform, developed by Blink 42-21, in partnership with Metamorphosis and Rural Coalition was promoted in the municipalities of Struga, Demir Hisar and Aerodrom. They have started a new era with a digital channel via which the citizens can directly communicate with their municipalities. The DIGILOCK project opens the way to a real digital transformation at local level.
The activities of CSOs implemented in May show that the civil society is more and more involved, it acts and is visible where it is most needed. Therefore, keep on following Civic Impulse, to see the changes that are possible if the citizens are loud, active and persistent.
