Duration: February 2010 – February 2011
Donors: Center for Institutional Development and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Skopje (SDC)
Objectives: Enhancing democratic participation in the municipalities for improving the inter-ethnic cooperation in the primary schools and within the local communities; improving multi-ethnic dialogue in the primary schools of 5 municipalities through providing proficient support and mentorship through the implementation of extra-curricular activities of the students in the ethnically mixed schools; strengthening the communication and cooperation in the primary schools for improvement of the inter-ethnic dialogue and cooperation; increasing participants’ ability to live and work in a multicultural environment through their participation in the project activities. The project target group was 9 primary schools (students, teachers, parents, principals) in the 5 municipalities: Kumanovo, Mavrovo & Rostuse, Struga, Strumica and Tetovo.
Results:
• Strengthened cooperation between the municipalities with the multiethnic population in order to enable them to directly cooperate with the teachers and students at the higher grades of primary education;
• Provided opportunities for students with different ethnical background to interact, gain knowledge about their different cultures and improve interethnic relationships in the schools and within the local community generally;
• Role-plays, discussions, recreational and other activities organized, with various topics included from the multiethnic society, through which they tackled the root of the issues and increased the possibilities of preventing eventual further conflicts.