OSCE

Multi-Ethnic Extra-Curricular Activities for Secondary Schools

Project Goal:

Provide students from different ethnic groups with the opportunity to interact and socialize, learn about each other, thus improving inter-ethnic relations among secondary school students and wider community.

Project Strategic Objectives:

	To strengthen multi-ethnic co-operation and dialogue and build confidence among youth
	To increase awareness on issues such as multiculturalism, living in the multi-ethnic society, anti-bias, conflict prevention, stereotypes and prejudices, democracy and promote tolerance and cultural sensitivity;
	To increase participants’ ability to live and work in a multicultural environment through their participation in the project activities.

Timeframe:

Start Date: 1 September 2007 / Completion Date: 30 June 2009

Funding: OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje - http://www.osce.org/skopje/

Project Partners:

OSCE in cooperation with a MCEC

Project Stakeholders: High school students from Kumanovo and Kicevo, their teachers and parents and wider communities

Overview:

In this project the four secondary schools in Kumanovo:”Goce Delcev”, “Nace Bugoni”, “Kiro Burnas” and “Pero Nakov” also, the secondary school “Mirko Mileski” in Kicevo were participating. The goal of the project was to increase the trust among the youth within the ethnically mixed communities in the course of a dialog and cooperation, as well as increasing awareness for the need of building a multiculturalism living together in the multiethnic society; promotion of democracy and tolerance; overcoming the stereotypes and conflict prevention.

Results:

· 8 workshops were held for the students and teachers from the project schools in order to learn about the concepts of: multiculturalism, anti-bias, conflicts, tolerance, democracy, stereotypes and prejudices.

· A variety of extracurricular activities was carried out/implemented:

Þ visits to the governmental institutions (The President of the state and the Parliament) and the students gained knowledge for their roles and functions);

Þ joint visits to religious and cultural sites (mosque, church, and museum) and students gained knowledge for various cultures and traditions);

Þ students participated in activities for introducing the variety of cultures and traditions; they were jointly sporting; they were working jointly on the environmental projects;

· Students and teachers of all project schools organized final presentations for sharing the project achievements in front of the audience consisted of other students, parents, school management and municipality officials.