Local authorities, representatives of the educational staff, representatives from institutions, NGOs, youth organizations, students, youth and children from the municipality of Vinica were the main speakers at the local conference “VINICA – Child-friendly municipality”.
This conference aimed to promote an inclusive and supportive environment for children by sharing already existing positive practices for children’s participation in the Municipality of Vinica. Representatives from the Municipality of Kisela Voda and the Municipality of Veles participated as guests at the conference, which are part of the project “Place to grow: Child friendly municipalities”, implemented by First Children’s Embassy Megjashi and Family and childcare centre – KMOP Skopje.
The conference was opened by Draghi Zmijanac – President and founder of the First Children’s Embassy in the world Megjashi, who emphasized the importance of children’s participation in decision-making processes. He spoke about his previous participation in local decision-making and gave ideas on how municipalities can involve children and youth in decision-making. The director of the Family and Child Care Centre – KMOP – Skopje, Kristina Vasileska, introduced the participants to the project and its significance for the municipalities.
The mayor of the Municipality of Vinica, Mile Petkov, emphasized that the municipality is always ready to open its doors in relation to any topic related to children, and above all, he gave special emphasis to quality education, better conditions in schools and safety, the opportunity for young people to make decisions through the local youth council and other forms of youth organization such as youth organizations. The mayor also referred being fully dedicated to support the process of development of strategy for children in the Vinica, which will be an added value in finding donors and partners for future projects.
Aleksandar Jovanov, advisor in the Vinica Municipality Council, confirmed the determination of the members of the Council to support the strategy for children, as a very important element in making decisions regarding the needs of children in the local community, and highlighted the previous projects and achievements in the area as well as the future challenges.
The representative from the Municipality of Kisela Voda emphasized the implemented projects in the municipality dedicated to children and young people and children’s participation. It was referred to the future plans and activities of the municipality and emphasized the importance of inter-municipal cooperation in the exchange of experiences and wider influence in the development of knowledge and skills among young people, as well as the possibilities for joint projects between the Municipality of Kisela Voda, Municipality of Veles and Municipality of Vinica within the area of children’s rights and children’s participation.
In the first part of the conference, it was discussed about the importance of mental health of children and young people, children’s activities in preschool education, opportunities for growth and development of children with disabilities and their inclusion through the “Detelina” association, as well as about youth activism in rural areas, through informal youth organization in the village of Gradec.
In the second part of the conference, was presented the volunteer actions of young people from the Red Cross – Vinica, youth activism and high school participation, peace education, social and primary health care of children as well as educational prevention for safety in the community were discussed.
Youth and children played a leading role in this local conference as moderators and volunteers. Students from two elementary schools were present – OOU “Goce Delchev” and OOU “Slavco Stojmenski” and secondary school “Vancho Prke”, who by writing a literary essay on the topic “Vinica – Municipality in which I want to live and grow”, described how they see the future in their city.
They submitted the written essays to the Mayor of the Municipality of Vinica in order for their children’s visions to be taken into account when fostering a municipality tailored to children and be taken into account for further planning future programs, budgets and project activities of the municipality.
This conference represented a unique and extraordinary opportunity to hear and learn from the experiences and practices between the local governments of Vinica, Kisela Voda and Veles, and at the same time to share the visions, challenges and opportunities of the municipalities in the direction of promoting, realizing and protecting the rights of children through forms of inter-municipal cooperation and partnerships.
After the conference, a local panel was constituted – a discussion consisted of representatives of the local authorities, educational staff, civil society organizations, Council of parents in schools, youth organizations and other stakeholders within the municipality. The panel will be a separate coordinating body within the municipality, which will provide structured and focused work related to children’s rights and the adoption of local strategic plans and will enable the development of a strategic plan for the municipality of Vinica with the aim of promoting children’s rights and their inclusion in local planning.
The event took place on May 30, 2024, in the Educational Centre – Progressive Academy, Municipality of Vinica.