How Active Citizenship Promotes Peace and Prosperity
Tanja and Sonja are two citizens who realized that with a little motivation, people can mobilize and contribute to changes in their way of life. Both are teachers at the “Lazo Trpovski” Elementary School in the Municipality of Karposh, and had never before been involved in any civic organization. However, they noticed that their work with young people gave them the opportunity to make positive changes in the community without relying on unreformed public services. Together with colleagues from the “Lirija” Elementary School in the Municipality of Chair, they developed a plan of what needed to be done and sought resources to begin implementing it.
“Actually, it was all very easy,” says Tanja. “We didn’t worry about lacking project experience or not being part of a well-known organization. We simply knew that with a good plan and supportive friends, we could help change our community.”
Tanja and Sonja created their project idea, “Against Violence Under the Same Sky”, with the aim of reducing intolerance growing between ethnic communities in their schools. As teachers, they realized that if divisive and negative behaviors were not challenged, young people in the community might turn to violence to express their frustrations, which would limit their socio-economic opportunities and trap them in a vicious cycle of failure.
What Did They Do?
The teachers and their colleagues organized numerous activities to help young people in their communities better understand the benefits of diversity and multi-ethnic societies. These included:
- A one-day event featuring a multi-ethnic fashion show, photo exhibitions, and video screenings
- Seminars and debates with guest speakers on multi-ethnic societies
- Workshops where children shared and celebrated their ethnic heritage through art and theater
- Short films to be shared on social media
What Support Did They Mobilize?
To make these activities happen, Tanja and Sonja convinced school administrations to let them use school premises and promote the activities through school channels. They engaged parents to help with materials, flyers, and posters, and to participate in event organization. A local journalist wrote stories about their activities in the local media. Most importantly, they partnered with the civic organization Youth Center for Equal Opportunities, which helped them apply for and secure a small grant from the Civica Mobilitas program.
What Changed? What’s Next?
The activities involved 110 young people and their families, while thousands more heard about them through local newspapers and social media. The youth participants say they are now more committed to promoting multi-ethnic communities, and with the experience they’ve gained, they hope to attract more investment to their neighborhoods. Teachers who participated want to make their methods available so other communities can replicate their work. Two schools in other municipalities have already been inspired to implement similar activities, and Tanja and Sonja are already developing their next community project.
Tanja and Sonja’s Recommendations for Active Citizenship
- You don’t have to be a registered organization to make a change!
- Discuss your ideas with colleagues and friends, include their advice in your plans, and ask for their help.
- Be clear about what you want to do and why you want to do it.
- Reach out to municipalities, schools, and businesses to see if they can help with materials, meeting space, or equipment.
- Look for registered civic organizations in your area and ask for support with grant applications and technical advice.
- Use social media and local media connections to promote your activities.
- Find ways to make your activities repeatable and sustainable.
- Learn lessons from both successes and failures — they will help you plan and implement more activities.
The project “Against Violence Under the Same Sky” is implemented from April to October 2017 with the support of the Youth Center for Equal Opportunities (youth_ceo@yahoo.com).
