Civic Impulse #14: Monthly Review of Grantee Activities
February 2026
In February there were many activities of Civica Mobilitas grantees. Starting with environmental initiatives and youth participation, up to gender responsive budgeting and demands for quality health care.
The environmental association “Natyra” from Struga and “Mirko Mileski” scout brigade started the activities of the project “Civil Network for Clean Air in the Southwest Region”. In February they held coordination meetings with representatives of the municipalities of Vevchani, Ohrid and Kichevo, where they presented the goals of the project – first of all, establishment of a Regional Civil Council for Air and construction of a network for monitoring of the air where there will be schools, citizens and local organizations included. The project envisages an installation of 30 instruments for measuring the air quality in five municipalities from the Southwest region, in order to strengthen the cooperation between the civil sector and local self-government.
The Center for Environmental Resources (REC), Eco Logic and Florozon held another workshop on the reuse and recycling and bio-waste for students of “Bratstvo” primary school, as part of the openair events with the caravan for demonstrating experiments in the schools.
So far, with the caravan, the organizations have trained around 600 students and 30 teachers from the primary schools in the municipalities of Karposh, Kisela Voda and Gjorche Petrov. The workshops show that the children learn when they experiment – they create new products from biowaste, and part of them start to apply what they have learned at home. Thus, the environmental awareness does not stop in the classroom, but it is transferred to families as well. For the broader public, the organizations have also prepared a series of educational videos on organic waste, and their new articles this time is dedicated to composting, benefits and effects of this process.
In Berovo, the Green Institute and the Association of Owners of Private Forests started a training of survey takers by experts and preparation of the first interviews on bio-waste with the directors of the public enterprises on communal works “Service”, public enterprise Macedonian Forests – Berovo branch, the biggest orchard in the Maleshevo region “Malesh” and the national hotel and restaurant complex “Manastir”. The visit to Berovo as part of the project “Zero Bio Waste: In Partnership with the Citizens” started with a meeting with the mayor Petar Ruzhinski and signing of a Memorandum for Cooperation.
In the northeast region, the Center for Climate Changes and the partner organizations spoke about the legal obligations, practical implementation, procedures for establishing collection centres as well as construction waste management. The discussion among institutions, public enterprises and experts, with a focus on improving the system for selection, collection and treatment of waste at local and regional level took place at the Regional Forum, part of the project “Regional Partnership for Better Implementation of the Green Agenda at Local Level”.
Within the project “Youth Policies Fit for the Young People”, the Youth Council Prilep organised a training on the topic of “Advocacy and Participation in Decision Making”. The participants got acquainted with the legal frame for youth participation and youth policies (ZMUMP), with the role and functioning of the Local Youth Council, as a significant mechanism for youth participation at local level.
At “Bliss” shopping centre in Bitola, there was a creative and educational workshop on the connection between shopping and mental health. The participants spoke about conscious spending, the emotional value of shopping and about the question if it really brings happiness.
On 27th and 28th February, in Krushevo there was a two-day training on advocacy and participation in decision making, organised from “European point of view”. The participants were representatives of CSOs and members of working groups for local policy development who directly work on improving the youth situation in the municipality of Novaci.
More than 60 women from rural and urban areas of Delchevo, Shtip and Vinica participated at the workshop “Advocacy for Gender Responsive Budgeting and Preparation of Gender Budgeting Initiatives”, organised within the project “With Women’s Activism and Initiatives to Gender Inclusive and Responsible Municipalities” of Loud Textile Worker, EHO from Shtip and INI from Vinica. The participants obtained specific knowledge on gender responsive budgeting, on mechanisms for civic participation in the creation of local policies and the way of preparation of gender budgeting initiatives.
On the occasion of the World Cancer on 4th February, marked this year under the motto “United in Our Uniqueness”, CSOs HERA, ESE, Stronger Together and the Initiative for Rights of Shuto Orizari Women appealed to the Government and the Ministry of Health with the request that the financial support to cervical cancer screening is increased to at least 35 million denars per year, to improve the availability of gynaecological services, increase the HPV vaccination and invest in continuous health educational campaigns. In this way, the health system will put the people and their real needs in the centre, with a special focus on women and vulnerable groups.
The Initiative for Rights of Shuto Orizari Women also held a consultative workshop at which it was confirmed that the Roma women and babies, despite the existence of state preventive programmes still face serious obstacles in the access to free of charge and quality health care.
All of these initiatives show us that we witness a dynamic and active civil sector at all fronts and all regions in the country.
