Educational workshops: Knowing Your Rights Is the First Step Towards Exercising Them

Knowing Your Rights Is the First Step Towards Exercising Them.

On 23 and 24 September 2026, LET Station organized two educational workshops focused on citizens’ rights and practical administrative procedures for exercising those rights.

The workshops aimed to provide participants with practical knowledge and greater confidence when dealing with institutions. Through concrete examples and practical guidance, participants learned about the steps they need to take when seeking to exercise a particular right – from identifying the right and determining which institution is responsible, to preparing the necessary documentation and submitting a request.

Special attention was given to what citizens can do when they face a refusal, a negative response, institutional inaction, or an administrative obstacle. Participants were introduced to available options for further action, including submitting complaints and using available mechanisms for the protection of their rights.

The purpose of these activities is to ensure that citizens do not simply know that a particular right exists, but also understand how to exercise that right in practice.

In everyday life, access to social and health protection, personal documentation, status-related rights and other public services often depends on submitting the correct request, providing the necessary documentation within the required timeframe, and understanding the relevant administrative procedure. For this reason, knowledge of institutions, procedures and available protection mechanisms can be particularly important for citizens, especially those who face additional barriers when accessing their rights and services.

The Practical Guide for Exercising Administrative and Status-Related Rights Based on Social, Health and Personal Documentation is available to all citizens and can serve as a useful tool when exercising different rights before the relevant institutions.

 The Guide is available at the following link:
Guide for Exercising Rights

The Guide provides practical information that can help citizens better navigate administrative procedures, identify their rights and understand where and how to request their exercise.

A right is not only something written in law – a right has real value when citizens know that it belongs to them, know where to claim it, and have the knowledge and support necessary to exercise it.

LET STATION continues to work on legal information, education and support for citizens, with the aim of improving access to rights, services and institutions.

The activity is part of the project “Legal Support and Education on Social Rights for Vulnerable Citizens in the Pelagonia Region”, funded through the grant programme of the project “Administrative Social Justice Initiative”, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Human Rights (IHR).