Peer Education Expands to Primary Schools in Bitola
Latest News Peer Education Expands to Primary Schools in Bitola Following the successful work with high school students in the first semester, the “Peer Education School against Peer Violence” program of YMCA continued into the second semester with a new focus: upper-grade primary school students. Out of the ten primary schools in Bitola, nine joined the initiative by selecting two to three motivated students from 8th and 9th grade to participate in the program. Their enthusiasm reflected the relevance of the topic – peer violence and the need to talk more openly about it. Over a period of two months, participants were divided into two groups and went through four thematic modules, adapted to their age and understanding. The topics mirrored those used with high school students: communication styles, the concept of power and influence, types of violence (physical, psychological, social, and cyber), and non-violent communication as an approach everyone can learn and apply in daily life. Each session offered space for reflection, learning, and building empathy among peers. The creative expression workshop looked a bit different from the one for older students. Instead of guided meditation, younger participants were encouraged to select an image that reminded them of peer violence or its consequences and then represent it through drawing and personal interpretation. The goal was to express their emotions and experiences in a safe and creative way. All sessions were facilitated by a psychologist and youth worker from the YMCA with support from a local artist during the art workshop. After completing the four modules and the art session, the trained students (now peer educators) carried out presentations and workshops in their own classrooms by the end of May 2025. These peer-led activities were well received by school staff, psychologists, and, most importantly, the students themselves. At the end of the school year, a formal certificate ceremony was held to recognize their efforts and completion of the program. The students also proudly exhibited their artwork from the creative session as testimony of their work and dedication. Twenty students completed the program, reaching over 350 peers in primary schools across the city. The experience helped them grow as leaders and advocates for a more supportive and safer school environment. The project “Peer School Against Peer Violence” run by the YMCA is a continuation of the peer education initiative at the Youth Center in Bitola on topics related to mental health, relevant to young people and the Municipality itself. The project is supported by Signs of Hope (CVJM) and the Municipality of Bitola and is implemented in cooperation with nine primary schools in the city.
GLOW club 2025: Girls on the Rise
Latest News GLOW club 2025: Girls on the Rise In 2024, we proudly brought GLOW Club back to Bitola after a pandemic pause, reuniting and inspiring a new generation of young girls through workshops on leadership, volunteering, communication, and practical skills. Building on that strong foundation, 2025 takes the journey further with fresh topics, deeper learning, and even more growth opportunities. In 2025, we continued organizing workshops for young girls, focusing on new and previously uncovered topics of interest to them. The seventh session was on the topic of Emotional Intelligence, led by psychologists Biljana Tolevska Naumovska and Orhideja Robevska. This session expanded the girls’ knowledge of the definition of emotional intelligence (EI), its core concepts and its origins. An interactive psychodrama exercise followed, involving all participants, encouraging them to share personal experiences and deepen their understanding of the topic. The session ended with very positive impressions and a collective commitment to invest more in self-development. For the eighth session, we chose yoga. To our great satisfaction, many of the girls were experiencing and benefiting from this type of personal growth activity for the first time. Our yoga instructor was Bojana Artinovska, who generously shared her knowledge during a two-hour introduction to yoga with specific exercises. These exercises were later selected for implementation in our upcoming GLOW camp. The yoga session energized the girls and motivated them to continue practicing at home if they enjoyed the experience. The ninth session, focused on Social Entrepreneurship, was led by an experienced social innovator Anita Gagovska. This was something completely new as a topic and unfamiliar to our girls. Through several icebreaker and scenario-based games, we dove deeper into the topic, with each girl identifying challenges in her environment and exploring potential innovative solutions. The overarching goal of the GLOW club is to increase the involvement of young girls in everyday social life, encouraging them to face challenges and actively engage in solving them in real-life situations. We wrapped up this cycle of the GLOW club with the 10th and final session on the topic of finance literacy led by Jeff Spencer, a Peace Corps volunteer who shared a piece of his rich career experience with us. Throughout his life, he has worked as a manager, professor, financial advisor, and insurance agent. The session covered a wide range of age-appropriate financial topics: the basics of finance, effective money management, types of savings, debt, investments for the future, and more. The girls had the chance to gain new knowledge, ask many questions to a financial expert, and receive firsthand answers. With these ten diverse sessions dedicated to the personal growth and career development of young girls in our city, expanding their horizons, and encouraging them to participate in volunteer activities for greater societal involvement, we laid the foundation for the continued existence and progress of this club. In June this year, we plan to organize a three-day GLOW camp, where these girls, along with new interested participants, will bring back the spirit of past camps. So far, we believe that our GLOW club has had a positive impact on the girls who attended our sessions. Through ten sessions, we covered a wide range of topics to educate and prepare participants for their next steps in life. We eagerly look forward to continuing this wonderful project in the fall of 2025 with hopes of its expansion!
Internship Opportunities at the YMCA: Supporting Young Professionals in Their Growth
Latest News Internship Opportunities at the YMCA: Supporting Young Professionals in Their Growth Leona I have benefited from the internship in several ways. It has given me the opportunity to apply my academic knowledge in a real-world setting, allowing me to gain hands-on experience in graphic design. Working on diverse projects has helped me develop my creative skills, improve my design process, and become more confident in my abilities. Additionally, the internship has taught me how to work effectively within a team, collaborate with others, and meet deadlines, which are all valuable skills for my future career. It has also provided me with a better understanding of the professional environment and the importance of communication and feedback in achieving quality results. Overall, this experience has significantly contributed to my personal and professional growth. Fidela My name is Fidela and I am a master’s student. During my studies, I had the opportunity to become part of the YMCA as an intern. I would like to share that during my internship in the organization I gained skills and knowledge that contributed greatly to me as a student, as well as to my professional development. Additionally, I would like to highlight my positive experience working with my mentor, as his support and cooperation significantly contributed to the successful completion of my tasks.
Empowering Youth Futures: YMCA’s New Career Guidance Initiative
Latest News Empowering Youth Futures: YMCA’s New Career Guidance Initiative This year, the YMCA has taken further steps in providing structured and impactful career guidance for young people. Building on the certification of our youth workers in the ProfillPASS methodology, as well as the methodology for life skills and employability from the project „Empowering Youth through New Opportunities“, YMCA successfully piloted both individual and group career support. Last year we started providing career guidance one-on-one, and this year we have started working with groups of peers with both initiatives aiming to help young people better understand themselves and make informed decisions about their future professional paths. Whether individual or group support, the YMCA approach has two main components: providing development of career (mostly “soft”) skills and providing development of life skills (via various types of character-building activities). Considering the group’s career support, in March this year, within the overall service YMCA provides for the local youth center, we piloted a three-part workshop series for primary and high school students. These sessions were tailored for age-specific youth. Participants explored the importance of personality types and self-awareness as a foundation for choosing a meaningful career. Each workshop focused on: Gaining deeper self-understanding, Setting clear and achievable personal and career goals, Creating a CV and personal portfolio, Building a professional network. Throughout the sessions, young participants also engaged with inspiring real-life people and their career journeys in psychology, music, academia, and civil society. The final workshop allowed them creatively to shape their envisioned career paths, reinforcing the importance of making thoughtful life decisions. Trainers for this three-part workshop series were Prof. Dr. Sašo Kočankovski (Psychologist and Gestalt Therapist) and Anita Gagovska (Social Innovator). These structured activities address the growing need for accessible career counseling. We aim to close the gap between youth potential and market demands by also initiating collaboration with schools, companies, and local educators to create a stronger ecosystem for youth development. With this, the YMCA reaffirms its mission to support young people in their personal and professional development through relevant, evidence-based, and youth-centered initiatives.
Campacity – A Journey of Learning, Connection & Inspiration
Latest News Campacity – A Journey of Learning, Connection & Inspiration From March 27-31, 2025, two staff members from our YMCA had the incredible opportunity to take part in Campacity 2025, a capacity-building conference for YMCA camps across Europe and the USA. This year, the event was held at Camp Perspektiv Fabrik, a scenic campsite located near Brandenburg an der Havel, just west of Berlin, Germany. Campacity is an annual conference hosted in a different country each year, organized by YMCA Europe, YMCA of the USA, and this year YMCA Germany as host. It brought together around 80 camp professionals and youth workers from both continents to exchange knowledge, share experiences, and strengthen the global YMCA camping movement. The conference focused on empowering YMCA camps with innovative, impact-driven approaches—covering key areas such as youth resilience, mental health, conflict transformation, trauma healing, work with refugees and more. It also serves as a space for collaboration and connection between camp leaders committed to working with war-affected youth and families, including displaced communities. Our Experience We spent four unforgettable days immersed in workshops, camp sessions, and informal networking. Each day offers two parallel agendas with sessions on different camp-related topics, ranging from outdoor learning methods to trauma-sensitive programming—all allowing us to split up, cover more ground, and exchange insights afterward. Evenings were reserved for campfire activities, games, and cultural exchange, creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere that brought participants closer together beyond the formal learning. We returned home enriched with new knowledge, meaningful connections, and a renewed motivation to make our camps more inclusive, healing, and impactful for every young person who joins them. What Participants Loved “We shared experiences and best practices and learned from other people.” — Claudia“I feel inspired to bring communities together and offer awesome camp experiences.” — Dana“We learned about camp culture building… like an energy gel.” — Ana“The energy, the joy, the whole camp vibe is exactly what I always dreamed of.”
From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact
Latest News From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact The event “From Ideas to Actions: Digital Hubs, Gaming & Community Impact”, hosted by YMCA Slovakia, was a great opportunity for us, as part of the representatives of 22 national movements, to connect with partners from the technology sector of our European movement, such as HP, Accenture and Microsoft. Since 2023, we have joined forces with HP Inc. to equip young people with the tools and digital skills they need to be ready for the future of work – as well as to be part of HP Inc.’s mission to accelerate digital capital for 150 million people by 2030. This joint mission is designed to explore the possibilities of implementing digital education and skills solutions in our communities, bringing technology closer to users, promoting digital inclusion and facilitating the use of the digital sphere as a tool for youth work, communication and community engagement. We were so happy with the presence of high-level key speakers at the event such as: The Managing Director for Central and Eastern Europe at HP Inc, the Leader for Partnerships and Social Impact Programs at HP Inc, the Director of Sustainable Impact for Global Communications at HP Inc, the Digital Corporate Manager at HP Accenture Slovakia, the Director of Social Impact Skills for Western Europe at Microsoft, as well as a representative from the Ministry of Education – Slovakia. In different panel discussions, they were present to deliver inspiring sessions on digital equality, artificial intelligence, games as a skill development opportunity, and digital hubs as pillars of the community, providing our national movement representatives with invaluable expertise and innovative steps to implement across Europe. This event was a significant step towards bridging the gap between technology and community development. By bringing together YMCA representatives and industry experts, the event fostered collaboration, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning for digital inclusion. Now, in addition to leveraging HP technology with the HP LIFE platform, the YMCA will implement the HP Gaming Garage solution, a leading gaming and maker education program designed to foster programming, design, and prototyping skills. With access to professional esports management and game development certificate courses, youth will have access to transferable skills for future jobs in the business, media, and ICT sectors. Designed by leading university professors for HP Inc. and hosted on edX, the HP Gaming Garage offers free access to 82 modules, available in English with translations in 11 additional languages. During this 2-day workshop in Bratislava, all participants were invited to a challenge to design a project idea on how to start a Gaming Garage in our centers, and the best three ideas would be presented and financially supported for implementation. We are very happy that our idea “Pay it Forward” is among the three winners and will soon start being implemented by our YMCA and YMCA Albania. Thank you to all partners and YMCA Europe for all the support you offer to our centers and the opportunities offered to young people and communities.
Youth Center Bitola: 2024 by the numbers
Latest News Youth Center Bitola: 2024 by the numbers In May 2023, the Youth Center was opened in Bitola, with the aim of providing a safe and inclusive space through various programs, activities and mentoring, where we aim to encourage personal development, cultivate leadership skills and create a sense of belonging among young people. The Youth Center itself is managed by 3 youth organizations from Bitola, YMCA, Sfera International and MKC. After a successful 2023, with a total of 2,651 beneficiaries and more than 200 activities held, the work of the youth center continued with even greater enthusiasm and desire for as many participants and activities as possible. In relation to the 8 previously set specific goals of this center, program activities were offered that have been largely fulfilled. A safe space is provided where young people can spend their free time, develop their competencies, encourage their entrepreneurial spirit, promote healthy lifestyle habits, as well as raise environmental awareness, inform about opportunities for informal education, strengthen active citizenship and promote volunteering. In the reporting period from January 1 to December 31, 2024: 4,469 beneficiaries were covered by over 300 different activities, many of which were held multiple times. The activities were offered by youth workers or by different youth work providers, i.e. over 15 different youth work providers used the spaces of the Youth Center Bitola to carry out their activities. The most visited topics were digital education, mental health, environment, youth participation and youth policies as well as entertainment/social activities. We would like to highlight two program activities, led by the YMCA: The Digital Education Club is one of the most visited clubs in the center for the second year in a row, aiming to achieve greater digital literacy among young people, as well as The Peer School for Mental Health and Children, which with 60 peer educators, included around 2.000 participants in all schools in the Municipality of Bitola, as well as the Peer School against Peer Violence, which included around 170 participants from the high schools. The activities of this school continue in 2025, with a focus on students from primary schools in the Bitola. The results of the work of the Youth Center Bitola in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024 are proof of the commitment to continuous work and organizing activities aimed at the professional and personal development of young people in Bitola, as well as to encouraging their participation in making decisions that are important to them in their local community. The success of the programs is evident mostly through the continuous increase in the number of visitors to the activities of the youth center, which in the annual period for 2024 has reached higher numbers than the total number of visitors in the previous 2023. This is the result of the organization’s commitment to promoting the Youth Center and increasing its recognition among young people. The full annual report of the youth center in the Macedonian language is available on the Youth Center website.
Participant’s Testimonies from the Peer School for High Schools
Latest News Participant’s Testimonies from the Peer School for High Schools Mihaela, Gymnasium Taki Daskalo During the training on peer violence, I had the opportunity to give a presentation in front of 40 students and two psychologists at my school. It was a huge experience for me, but at the same time a big challenge. What scared me the most was whether I would be able to keep everyone’s attention, especially when I knew that not only first and second-year students would be listening to me, but professionals as well. The nervousness and fear of making mistakes were constantly present, because it was important to me that my message was clear and well understood. When the presentation was over, I felt relieved, happy and relaxed. Although I was afraid, I managed to overcome my fear and convey the topic with dedication. It was wonderful to see how my words affected the students, and to hear positive feedback from all of them. It gave me additional motivation and confidence. I would definitely present again. Every new experience of this type helps me improve and feel more confident in myself, both now and in the future. I see it as a chance to grow and pass on my knowledge to others. When it comes to working with elementary school students, I would gladly accept. I believe that working with younger students is extremely important, because they are in a period when they learn the most and form themselves as individuals. I would like to help them learn how to deal with violence and create positive relationships with the people around them. Through this experience, I realized even more that I find myself in psychology that I want to develop in the future. I want to continue working with young people, to inspire them and to help them deal with the challenges that life brings. Predrag, Technical School Gjorgi Naumov I am Predrag, I am 15 years old and study at a technical secondary school. I was giving a presentation in front of about twenty youths, and we were learning about fighting peer violence. From the presentation I learned a lot about myself, but also about others. I have learned that people who commit violence also have problems, not just those who receive it. Ognen, Technical School Gjorgi Naumov I am Ognen, a student at the technical school in Bitola and I was a peer educator at the School Against Peer Bullying. Before delivering my presentation, I was afraid that I could get confused very easily and not be understood or interested by the audience, but that immediately changed as soon as I started presenting. Since the presentation ended, I felt nice, relieved and fulfilled that I was able to contribute to raising awareness about the peer violence that occurs in today’s society. I would definitely like to present again, both in front of my peers and in front of elementary school students on this topic, because the topic is of great importance to everyone. Nektaria, Gymnasium SABA I am Nektaria, a second-year student at the SABA high school. Before coming to this workshop I was afraid of presenting in front of many people, in front of youth, as well as meeting new ones, but as time went on, with each new workshop we got to know the youth better. When we had to present as peer educators in our schools, things changed and I was very relaxed. During the workshops, I am glad that many students got relaxed and started sharing their experiences, whether they were bullies or victims of violence. I hope that in the future more will join such workshops so that we can positively affect and reduce violence. Teodora, Medical School Jovan Kalauzi I am Teodora, I am studying in medical high school, and I am 16 years old. I think this presentation was very useful and I learned so many new things. I know that this presentation will benefit me in the future, and I know that those who listened to me will learn something more about what peer violence is actually. I had no stage fright at all about the presentation and no one should have stage fright. It’s not scary and if you’re educated about what you’re talking about and then it’s easy to express it to all those who want to listen to you. More about this program you can read here: Peer School Against Peer Violence – YMCA.mk
Peer School Against Peer Violence
In September, the selection of peer educators for the “Peer School against Peer Violence” at YMCA began!
Promotion of a Safe School Environment
Latest News Promotion of a Safe School Environment In December as part of the project “Promotion of a Safe School Environment”, the YMCA held a series of three workshops in the primary school in the Municipality of Mogila. The project “Promotion of a Safe School Environment” is an extensive project of the Coalition of Youth Organizations SEGA in partnership with the Macedonian Center for Civic Education, the First Children’s Embassy in the World Megjashi and Smart Up – Social Innovation Lab as well as with support from the Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation. It is being implemented in the period from September 2023 to August 2026. Project activities The goal of these workshops was to build the capacity of the children’s organization, so it can implement school initiatives that can contribute to building a safer school environment. The workshops were attended by the upper-class student representatives, including all class presidents, their deputies, and the school’s children’s ombudsman, aged 12 to 15. We started first to improve students’ communication skills, to familiarize them with the concept of research and to offer them an opportunity to exercise aimed at a deeper understanding of everything that research encompasses. As a follow-up activity, they had to conduct research in their school including surveys, questionnaires, or interviews. In the last workshop they reviewed the results and assessed them in a direction to understand and to come up with relevant school initiatives. For this purpose, for the first time they have been introduced to the elements of a project initiative (what a project means, what are the phases of the project cycle, etc.). The students gained basic knowledge of these topics that will be useful for them in the next phase of this project in spring 2025. The student’s initiative The initiative of opening a safe corner for students will be implemented in the second school semester. This corner is planned to be in the school hallway itself, which will consist of 5-6 lazy bags and several tables where students will have a chance to talk to a psychologist about the problems in their everyday lives. On the wall itself, they will have the opportunity to draw motivational messages, a box left for praise and complaints, they will be able to anonymously report their remarks about the school, school staff, their problems, etc. It is intended that this initiative will raise the level of safety among the students, the professional service and school staff and this initiative will contribute towards a better school environment for this generation of students. Photos from this Activity in this Album.
