Leading experts, policy makers and advocates from Europe who are dedicated to children’s wellbeing and who have many years of experience in local planning for children together with local authorities, academics, civil society organizations, youth and children from the country were the main speakers at the International Conference “Create Your Place to Grow”.
This conference aimed to promote inclusive and supportive environments for children, providing insight into knowledge, experiences, and best practices in implementing child-centred initiatives across Europe.
The conference was opened with the welcoming speech of Marie-Madeleine Kanellopoulou, Head of the Department for Economic Affairs, Institution Building and Cross-Border Cooperation at the EU Delegation and Kristina Vasileska, Director of Family and Childcare Centre KMOP Skopje.
Several panellists addressed the attendees in the first part of the conference, the representative of UNICEF, Patricia Di Giovanni, referred to the aspects that can be improved by municipalities in order for them to be child-friendly, and she also mentioned some examples from the country. The president of the First Children’s Embassy in the world, Megjashi, Drahi Zmijanac, emphasized the importance of children’s participation in the decision-making processes.
The education advisor at the office of the mayor of Kisela Voda and the mayor of the municipality of Vinica, Mile Petkov, emphasized the commitment of the municipalities in improving the conditions for growth, development, and prosperity of children, as well as the need for mutual learning and exchange of experiences.
Assistant Professor D-r. Angelka Keskinova from the Institute for Family Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy shared her expert views on how to create an inclusive environment, including children with disabilities. Meanwhile, Dimitar Georgiev, a volunteer and high school student at the “Georgi Dimitrov” secondary school, spoke about his previous participation in local decision-making and provided ideas on how municipalities can involve children and young people in decision-making.
The key conference session included the presentation of case studies from several EU countries. The experts and representatives Stavrula (Lina) Antara, UNICEF Greece, Katerina Samali, Municipality of Katerini from Greece, Julia Wogerbauer from UNICEF Austria, Elisabeth Wenzl from the Institute for Family and Career Management from Vienna, Heike Tafelmeier from the Municipality of Krefeld from Germany, who have practical experience in local planning for children, spoke about UNICEF’s initiative for child-friendly cities in their countries.
Young people and children had a leading role in this International Conference, Jana Nikolovska, a high school student at the “Orce Nikolov” secondary school and a volunteer in FCEW Megjashi, was the moderator and host of the event, together with Sara Tairi, a student at “Zef Lush Marku” secondary school.
Matea Chankulovska, a high school student at “Nikola Karev” secondary school a volunteer at FCEW Megjashi, gave a presentation about the “Place to Grow” project, and all the present youth and children together with the representatives of the local authorities from Kisela Voda, Vinica, Gostivar, Veles and Debar, the school administration and the civil sector jointly participated in a practical workshop to create their vision of a “Child-friendly municipality”.
This conference represented a unique and extraordinary opportunity to hear and learn from the experiences and practices of leading local governments from the European Union that are dedicated to the wellbeing of children, and at the same time to share the visions, challenges, and opportunities of the municipalities in the country for the promotion, realization and protection of children’s rights.
The conference was a platform aimed to inspire municipalities in their commitment to create local communities where children will live in a healthy, safe, happy, and supported environment.
The event took place on October 25, 2023, at the “Holiday Inn” hotel from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You can watch the video broadcast of the conference at the following link.
