Civic Impulse #17: Monthly Review of Grantee Activities
May 2026
In this issue of Civic Impulse, we share the overview of the most important activities of the grantees for May 2026, focusing on initiatives that contribute to improving the media standards, gender equality, youth policies and environment protection in the community.
The new Draft Journalist Code of Macedonia was open for public comments until 18th May, processing the changes that had been jointly prepared by the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) and the Council for Media Ethics (CMEM). The new text, made of 18 articles, includes a revision of the existing regulations and three completely new articles that regulate the use of AI, secret data collection and reporting on suicides. The consultation process also included a public event held on 11th May at Europe House in Skopje, in order to finalize the text.
More understanding and support to women is the goal of the series of trainings for family doctors and gynecologists on menopause, started by the Health Education and Research Association HERA in cooperation with the Macedonian Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians MAGO. The first series of trainings already covered more than 40 health care workers on better care and timely recognition of symptoms. Parallelly with health care topics, there was a legally won victory for the women farmers. The basic civil court reached a verdict that found discrimination against individual women farmers in their access to rights for health care insurance, following the procedure started by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and the Commission for Prevention and Protection from Discrimination, obliging the Government and the Ministry of Health to start legal changes.
In Kumanovo, the women that took part in the manicure and pedicure course were given certificates for the obtained practical skills. The course was implemented by the association “Cohabitation Forever” in partnership with ZGI Antiko and ZOK Adrion. Also, in the eastern region there were nine initiatives submitted to the municipalities of Delchevo, Shtip and Vinica, covering improvement of pedestrian infrastructure, social services for elderly, access to people with disabilities and raising the public awareness on gender based violence. There were field activities by the humanitarian association “Mother” from Kumanovo, which held working meetings with local activists in the neighborhoods of Igo Trchkovikj and Karposh, preparing specific requests to the municipality and public enterprises.
The university reforms remained in the public focus, after the draft text of the new Law on Higher Education had entered the government procedure and caused polarized views, which is explained in details in the analysis where the focus is on the university reform. While the Ministry of Education and Science claims that the reforms will improve the quality, critics warn that the new law is between promises and fear of control. Additionally, there were serious questions on whether the private scholarly institutes are endangered because of the impossible criteria in the new draft law on scholarly and academic work, while at the same time the universities ask for corrections. In his analytical review, professor Ali Pajaziti spoke about the deep crisis of the “society of knowledge” cult, pointing out the degradation of education, the occurrence of the so-called “quotation cartels” and the dangers of turning the universities into corporations.
The young people and their skills were the centre of many activities in May. In the premises of “Up Hub” in Strumica there was a four-day training where young people learned how to manage their personal finances organized by “Promo Idea”, “Novus” and “Kruna Plus”. At the same time, in Bitola, “Pro Local” CSO held the fifth session on the Regional Youth Platform – Pelagonija with mayors from the region, where they discussed the introduction of a separate budget item “YOUTH” in the municipal budgets. The celebration of the craftsmanship day was organized in Gostivar by ADI Gostivar and partners, and the Institute for Leadership and Public Policies also conducted a training on mental health for the young people. Children’s Embassy Megjashi shared concerning data on the young people in their annual SOS line report. At the same time, as a response to the need for bigger youth influence, the young people from Krushevo, Tetovo and Kumanovo were involved in workshops on developing a smart system based on AI. The workshops were provided by the Youth Alliance Krushevo and their partners.
Environmental activism and circular economy rounded the month by organic waste management organised by REC, “Eco Logic” and “Florozon” in the Skopje City Park, where there were awards granted for the most successful student business ideas for school composters. There was a similar youth green energy in Valandovo, where the students used their initiative ”Young People as Movers of Positive Changes in Valandovo” to renew and arrange the places for rest in the centre of town. The activities end in Struga, where “Natura” environmental association successfully held its first training in clean air, promoting a new educational manual on clean air before the students present.
These activities, supported by the Swiss Government via Civica Mobilitas have continued to confirm the continuous dedication of the CSOs to create better and more quality living conditions for the citizens in the country.
