On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the institution of the Ombudsman, the EU Delegation in cooperation with the First Children’s Embassy MEGJASHI, the Family and Childcare Centre – KMOP Skopje and the Foundation for Educational and Cultural Initiatives “Step by Step”, as well as the Office of the Ombudsman held a Conference to promote children’s rights to democratic participation and involvement.
The participants of the conference were addressed by EU Ambassador David Geer, Ombudsman Naser Ziberi, the head of the Department for the Protection of Children’s Rights at the Office of the Ombudsman Vaska Bajaramovska-Mustafa, the director of the “Step by Step” Foundation Susana Kirandziska, while the moderators of the conference were Jana Nikolovska – a high school student at SUGS Orce Nikolov and a volunteer at FCEWM Megjashi and Petar Pavlovski – a high school student at SUGS Zdravko Cvetkovski and a volunteer at FCEWM Megjashi.
Draghi Zmijanac, president of the First Children’s Embassy in the world MEDJASHI, also addressed the attendees, he emphasized the importance of local self-governments strengthening their commitment to the promotion of children’s rights and their participation in local planning. Apart from the lack of a national strategic document for the promotion and protection of children’s rights, such a document is also lacing on at the local level, i.e. no municipality has a local action plan for children’s rights.
Dimitar Georgiev, a student from the “Georgi Dimitrov” secondary school from Skopje, shared the perspective of children and young people about the importance of their involvement in the decision-making process at the local and national level. Kristina Vasileska, director of the Family and Childcare Centre KMOP Skopje, referred to the aspects and ways in which we can create an enabling environment for the full enjoyment of children’s rights.
The conference was attended by mayors and representatives of local governments, and directors and other representatives of partner schools, as well as students from several schools in Macedonia. The event was held on June 5, 2023, at the Alexander Palace Hotel, starting at 10 a.m.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The project “Place to grow: child-friendly municipalities” is a 30-month project implemented by the First Children’s Embassy in the world Megjashi and the Family and Childcare Centre – KMOP Skopje, starting from February 2023 to July 2025. The project is financed by the Delegation of the European Union within the local schemes for supporting civil society of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (2021 EIDHR Supporting a civil society through Country-Based Support Schemes in North Macedonia). The general goal of the project is to strengthen the efforts of local authorities to promote children’s rights and children’s participation in local planning, in five municipalities in Macedonia: Vinica, Debar, Gostivar, Veles and Kisela Voda.