On August 12, 2021, a youth action was held, supported by the Municipality of Dolneni and the USAID Youth Ethnic Integration Project, in cooperation with the Youth Education Forum. Students from different ethnic communities from the primary schools “Ali Fethi Okyar” and “Pere Toshev” and the high school “Rilindja” celebrated the Youth Day. They gathered by respecting the protocols for protection and embellished the schoolyard of the high school “Rilindja” in the village of Zitose, Municipality of Dolneni.
Together with their parents and the school and municipal staff, they placed modern equipment and planted trees and plants in the schoolyard. Students were joined by the Representative to the USAID Office in North Macedonia, Sharon Kellman Yett, who emphasized the importance of encouraging youth activism and talked to them about their motivation and role in the environment improvement.
She also met with the Mayor of the Municipality of Dolneni, Xhemil Kamili, and the director of the high school, Valmir Shaqiri, with whom she discussed the ways in which the municipality supports young people and their ideas and the cooperation with schools to promote interethnic integration.
The students planned an action that was to be implemented during the summer brеаk. It is a result of the online workshops in which they participated in the past months at which they have identified the challenges and possible solutions to improve the situation in their municipality. Through online advocacy meetings, they also cooperated with local authorities before presenting their conceptual solutions and got the necessary support. Thus, the students managed to realize their ideas, emphasizing the importance of youth activism.
This activity is part of the Youth Ethnic Integration Project, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of MCEC and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Government.
