GLOW Club Summary 2024
In 2024, the YMCA, in collaboration with the Peace Corps and American Corner Bitola, revitalized the GLOW Club (Girls Leading Our World) in Bitola.
400 Young People Included in the Club for Digital Education
Latest News 400 Young People Included in the Club for Digital Education This year, we continued to see remarkable engagement with HP LIFE courses with the YMCA in the Youth Center, marking the second year these courses have been offered within the program for career development. The results speak volumes about the program’s growing impact: Participant Demographics: 52% of participants were women and 48% were men. Approximately 90% were elementary and high school students, with the remainder being university students and employees. Participation and Certification: In 2024, around 380 participants completed the courses, earning an impressive 490 certificates across 57 sessions. Popular Topics: Of the seven topics offered, Marketing stood out, with about 40% of participants rating it as the most interesting. Positive Feedback 98% of participants found the courses easy to learn. 100% said they would recommend the courses to others. 94% considered the courses useful, while 6% were unsure about their usefulness. Participant Insights In an anonymous evaluation, participants shared what they appreciated most about the program: Courses: Topics were engaging, relevant, and practical, with a particular emphasis on learning new skills such as writing professional emails and understanding useful tools for sales. Methodology: The teaching approach was praised for being clear and supportive, with facilitators offering helpful guidance and creating a relaxed, interactive learning environment. Participants also enjoyed the incorporation of games, exercises, and meaningful discussions topic related. Logistics: The Youth Center was commended for its clean and well-equipped facilities, good internet, and warm, welcoming atmosphere. Participants valued the flexibility of online access and the opportunity to receive certificates upon completion. When asked what could be improved, most participants expressed satisfaction with the current setup. Some suggested expanding the program to include more participants, adding music during sessions, or introducing additional topics. Next Steps As we move into 2025, we are excited to continue offering these courses, building on our successes, and reaching even more participants. For the second consecutive year, the HP digital education club has been the most visited initiative at the Youth Center, outshining the center’s other four active clubs in terms of the number of participants. Its continued success underscores its importance in bridging the digital divide and empowering the community through accessible digital education. Looking ahead to 2025, we are committed to enhancing and expanding this initiative even further. By continuing to provide valuable digital education opportunities, we aim to empower more individuals in our community, foster innovation, and help participants develop the skills needed to thrive in an increasingly digital world. We look forward to welcoming new participants and building on the strong foundation established over the past two years. Read what the participants are saying: Testimonials Photos from this Activity in this gallery.
YMCA World Accelerator Summit: Vision 2030 in Mombasa, Kenya
From 21st to 26th October 2024, I had the incredible privilege of attending the YMCA World Accelerator Summit in Mombasa, Kenya.
Participants’ Voices: Testimonials from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program for 2024
Latest News Participants’ Voices: Testimonials from the YMCA+HP Digital Education Program for 2024 AndreaAs one of the most regular visitors to the Youth Center, who regularly attends various events and workshops, I also learned about the HP LIFE courses. These are digital literacy courses run by Natasha from the YMCA. I learned a lot of new things that I should normally learn at school, but unfortunately, they aren’t part of our education system. After taking a few courses, I decided to recommend them to my classmates because I believe everyone should be educated on basic things. After all, we live in a time where almost everything is digital. I must also mention that every time I attend any HP LIFE course, I gain knowledge, confidence, and make new acquaintances. My favorite category is communications. LukaI am satisfied with these courses because we are living in a modern age where everyone needs to have an understanding of technology, online business, and many other things. I am very grateful to the YMCA for offering the HP courses because they are very useful for young people. I have been taking these courses for a while now, and I can say that I like and use them a lot. I also want to praise Natasha Darkov, who is our educator and is always ready to explain any part of the course that is unclear to us. I am sharing this course with my friends and classmates because it is beneficial, and I hope they will like it because it is very relevant today. In the future, I plan to study all the courses, but I would single out the marketing topic as the most useful. MarkoI am 17 years old and I was introduced to the HP courses at the youth center where I regularly volunteer. I am thrilled I started attending these courses because I learned about different aspects of the IT world. This way of getting some new skills through such courses should be applied in education because when I can get this much knowledge, everyone else should and deserves to get it. The courses can help a lot and I would share them with more of my friends. DavidI’m David, a student in my second year at SABA high school, majoring in business. My school always shows interest in non-formal education and that is why for the second year we partnered with the YMCA for the digital education courses the YMCA offers supported by HP Life. I attend these courses with many of my classmates to enrich my knowledge of digital marketing. I know that the future lies in digital education, so I study all the courses with great dedication. I would recommend all young people to take advantage of this free opportunity and I know that if they come at least once, the YMCA Digital Hub will become one of their favorite places in our city. LinaI am Lina, a second year of studying business at SABA high school and I have also been attending HP courses for the second year, provided by the YMCA in our city. I found out about these courses through our school, which is always willing to suggest and provide us with additional knowledge so that we can improve ourselves more for our future. The topic of digital marketing is my favorite, but of course, I also enjoy the new courses on the topic of Digital Business Skills, which are much related to my current education. In the future, I would like to study business-related studies, and I know that the knowledge gained about digital marketing will be of great importance to me. I recommend it to all my classmates and friends, this is a great opportunity for us and it would be a great shame if you do not take advantage of it. Read more about this program here.
European Mobility Week
Latest News European Mobility Week The European Mobility Week, which takes place from 16 to 22 September every year, this year covered 2,767 cities from 45 countries. Like every year, this year too, YMCA Bitola marks the European Mobility Week #EuropeanMobilityWeek with the aim of raising public awareness among young people, all citizens and decision-makers about the importance of alternative modes of transport for an active lifestyle, healthier citizens and environments and reduced congestion and pollution. The theme of this year’s campaign was shared public spaces. Our public spaces are unfairly distributed in the different modes of transport with car dominance with over 90%. This must change. We held the first meeting with representatives of primary schools in order to understand the vision of the European Mobility Week. The event was attended by representatives of 7 primary schools from our city, who recognized and accepted the idea of greater student inclusion, as well as raising awareness among younger students. The second event was for 18 students from 6 primary schools in Bitola. We talked about the European Mobility Week, about the bicycle as a means of transport, we had four activities and we had a workshop on basic safety checks and Do-It-Yourself repairs. They need to learn why we should all stand for this vision and have a beautiful and sustainable city. During the rest of the week, peer educators from primary schools carried out activities aimed at sharing this knowledge, so that as many young people as possible could get involved and contribute to the vision of healthy, active, mobile and independent youth. The education on traffic culture and cycling agenda covered the primary schools St. Kliment Ohridski, Dr. Trifun Panovski, Stiv Naumov, Elpida Karamandi, Todor Angelevski and Kole Kaninski. Thanks to the schools who are interested in implementing such activities, to the school staff without whom such activities would not be possible, to the peer educators who joined us, participated, learned something useful and implemented activities in their schools on this topic. Peer education activities are of great importance, both for the city itself for popularizing the topic and for familiarizing students with their responsibilities in traffic. We thank the Go Green – Bidi Zelen association and the Fikamago Bike bike shop and service for their support! Photos from this Event in this Album.
The Strategic Meeting of the YMCA Western Balkans
Latest News The Strategic Meeting of the YMCA Western Balkans From September 23rd to 26th, we had the opportunity to attend the meeting of the Western Balkans Initiative (WBI). This initiative is supported by YMCA Europe, The YMCA of the USA and YMCA Germany to the YMCAs in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. The meeting, organized by YMCA Serbia in Novi Sad, focused on sustainability, with a relevant agenda that covered the following main topics: Showcase of YMCA Serbia programs and development Progress report for 2023: Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo Current work plan for the YMCA region (measuring impact) Review of success stories and challenges from Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Kosovo in property management Best practices from YMCA Germany running hostels Comprehensive fundraising for capital investments EU and Erasmus+ funding opportunities The meeting is a follow-up on the previous West Balkans meetings in extended format with guests from YMCAs from Bulgaria, Romania and Italy. Hybrid sessions were attended by representatives of YMCA USA and YMCA Germany. This partnership highlights the importance of shared goals and collaboration between YMCAs, regardless of location, in fostering impactful work across Europe. The progress of the WBI Action Plan 2023-2025, created to enable the appropriate growth of YMCAs from the Western Balkans, was presented. The action plan aims to improve the situation in 3 key areas: youth programs (improve program quality, reach more young people), good governance (improve governance, structures, transparency, financial discipline and establish good conduct policies) and self-sustainability (build meaningful partnerships, income generation programs, fundraising strategies and secure capital investments as a strategic goal for sustainability). This event was a great opportunity to bring together colleagues from different YMCAs to share, learn from each other, dream, be inspired, ask tough questions, share challenges and together build bridges of hope, cooperation and fellowship. A big thank you to YMCA Serbia for the incredible hospitality in the beautiful city of Novi Sad! Photos from this Activity in this gallery.
Play4Peace Camp in Kosovo
Latest News Play4Peace Camp in Kosovo From July 1 to 6 a team of 8 people from our YMCA attended a Play4Peace youth project in Peja, Kosovo along with 20 other young people and youth workers from Serbia, Kosovo and Italy united for peace-building through sports. This project included a 5-day program where through various sports activities and workshops, participants gained a deep understanding of the critical role of youth in peace-building and reconciliation efforts. Play4Peace was an interactive event with discussions, home groups, personal reflections, activities and games that can be applied in any organization. In addition to the educational activities, the participants had an opportunity to visit 3 cities, where they were divided into teams involved in numerous team-building activities such as Escape Room, Photo Challenge, and intercultural evening. In addition, are a few testimonies of some of our participants: FilipI have only a positive opinion about the project. The expectations I had were high, so I’m glad that after all that, they were met. While I was there, I learned a lot about what peace is as a concept, and how to convey it in my environment. I am truly grateful for the chance to participate. AndreaAs for the first time on a project, I had a lot of fun. I learned many things and games and met many new people. And I am especially happy that I got closer and better acquainted with everyone from my group, and that I had some unpleasant moments, but at the same time funny situations that made my experience even more beautiful. TeodoraIn the past week, the YMCA provided us with a project and fellowship that we as participants did not expect. This project for me was a great challenge and study of myself and the people who were around me. The activities that were assigned to us during the sessions, left a lasting impression that I believe we will apply in our everyday lives in the future. Meeting new cultures, and friends, their open-mindedness and honesty left a strong impression on me. “Play4Peace” is a project that made us open up emotionally to new things, to know how to respect each other and what friendship means. There are no wrong answers, there is only the study of new challenges and adventures that await each individual. I highly recommend all those who are keen on learning new things to become a part of the YMCA youth team. DimitriјI have only positive impressions about the project in Kosovo. My expectations were exceeded. The project allowed us to meet and work together with young people from Kosovo, Serbia, and Italy. Together we discussed topics about peace and through sports activities. LoraThe project in Kosovo in which I participated left a great impression on me as I was delighted by their hospitality, their professional approach to the given obligation, the way of realizing the project, as well as conveying the main message to each of the participants. The activities that were implemented should be applied in everyday life because they have a positive impact on each one of us in gaining new knowledge about other cultures, their history and forming new friendships that I believe will be lasting, learning what peace is and how to play for peace. If you get a chance to participate in such a project, sign up without thinking and prepare for an unforgettable experience that will be permanently engraved in your hearts and memories. LukаI have very good impressions of my first youth exchange, and I can say that it exceeded my expectations. When I first heard about this exchange I wanted to go to experience something new in a new country go to a new place and meet new friends. While participating I was very happy because the project was related to sports. I am very grateful to the YMCA for the idea of getting to know the youth from Kosovo, Serbia, and Italy through sports, teamwork, through joint participation. I met many good friends from other countries with whom I still communicate, from whom I learned a lot about their countries, their culture, their religion, etc. I recommend the activities to anyone because they are related to a healthy life and can contribute to improving ourselves mentally. Younger individuals will benefit the most because they are developing and need a good example of how to grow, and develop, just have confidence, not be afraid to express themselves, and know that you can find friends from another country. Photos from this Activity in this gallery.
Voices of Change: Testimonials from the Participants of the Peer School for Mental Health
Latest News Voices of Change: Testimonials from the Participants of the Peer School for Mental Health Nata Marija Seshic – Elementary School, Gjorgi SugarevI am Nata Marija, and I was part of the Peer School for Mental Health of Children and Youth. Through communication and socializing, I learned how to deal with anxiety and panic attacks, as well as how to stay calm when giving a speech in front of an audience. In addition to learning new skills, I met and made new acquaintances and friendships. That’s why I highly recommend being part of the activities at YMCA Bitola. Andrea Grozdanovska – High School Student, Taki DaskaloWhen I heard about this training, the first thing I did was sign up without hesitation, and I couldn’t wait to start the meetings. This training was something new and a step ahead of just talking about how important mental health is. It was the first training that worked with young people to help them understand its importance, pass it on to their peers, and gradually break down stereotypes. It encouraged personal growth and development, working on self-confidence, building healthy relationships, etc. For me, this school was very interesting because at every meeting there was a different atmosphere—positive, fun, but at the same time calm. We often gathered in a circle and shared various experiences, where we felt heard and accepted as we were. During the few months that the school lasted, I slowly changed some of my thoughts and attitudes, realizing more about myself and how to keep my mental health in good shape. I gained good socialization, made many new acquaintances, and got rid of the fear of public speaking. Furkan Metliku – Elementary School, Goce DelchevI had a very good time at this school. I learned something at each training session and realized what I needed to change about myself. From all the trainings held, I shared what I learned with my close friends. Emilia Ilievska – High School Student, Jane SandanskiI had a great time during the mental health training. I learned many things, especially how to express my negative feelings such as irritability and outbursts. Also, through these trainings, I gained more confidence in speaking to others, especially when presenting in front of a crowd. I believe this training has helped me a lot in my daily life, and I recommend everyone attend at least one such training because it will help them a lot. Sara Petrovska – Student, Music AcademyThanks to the Mental Health Peer School, I became a peer educator. I managed to give a lecture on resilience to about ninety pupils and students. Our preparation for this lasted 12 teaching hours, during which we worked on several topics that contained both theoretical and practical parts. We studied and worked with the help of psychologists, for which I am very grateful. Today, I know much more, I have improved myself, and the knowledge will serve me in everyday life. I believe we should have more workshops of this type and speak out in order to help, educate, and grow healthily—as we have now. Jovana Talevska – High School Student, Dr. Jovan KalauziThis was the perfect opportunity to first learn to identify my own emotions, then learn techniques and methods that will help me make the most of them, and finally be able to apply all of that to help and support my peers. Sara Gjorgjievska – Elementary School, Goce DelchevI am so happy that I had the chance to be part of this project and become a mental health peer educator myself. The friendships, experiences, and knowledge I gained will stay with me forever, and I am very grateful for that. I hope that in the future, I will again have the chance to further develop in the field of mental health and peer education. Viktorija Jovanovska- International Slavic University, Faculty of Psychology The Peer Educator School, organized by AMOS, YMCA, and Poraka Nova, took place at the Youth Center in Bitola. Initially, I heard about the school from acquaintances, but I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about. A few days later, my dear professor, Sašo Kočankovski, sent me more information about the event, and then I knew it was something that would be really useful to me and definitely worth participating in. The things we are learning in the school are applicable and well-explained, so anyone from any field can understand them, use them for their own benefit, and then share them with their close ones and peers in a simple and understandable way. I would recommend to all young people to participate in such events more often in order to exchange opinions, meet new people, and discover different perspectives. This would contribute to their personal growth and development, and then to the development of the community. Read more about the event: Peer School Against Peer Violence – YMCA.mk
Final Promotional Event of the Peer School for Mental Health
Latest News Final Promotional Event of the Peer School for Mental Health On June 26, after the completed education of peer educators and the largest peer education held on the importance of mental health in Bitola with a coverage of over 2000 students from elementary and secondary schools in Bitola, as well as in several faculties, the final promotional event of the project. It was a several-hour event, which consisted of presenting the project results, but also a presentation of the additional intellectual and creative results that resulted from the project activities. The promotional event began with a presentation of the steps and phases through which the project moved and how all the modules were through which children and young people from primary, and secondary schools and students were organized. The discussion was opened by Viktor Iliev, president of YMCA Bitola, followed by Prof.Ph.D. Sasho Kochankovski about how the atmosphere was built among the participants of the peer education modules and the social impact that was realized on the involved educators. In this section, the work of the two support groups (groups for persons with disabilities in the family and groups for single-parent families) was shown. The coordinators who led the groups, Renata Dimanovska for the group with single-parent families and Martina Durljanova for the group of families with persons with disabilities, gave presentations for them. Then the manual was shown according to which the work modules for children and young people, as well as for vulnerable groups, were conducted. The explanation for the manual was given by Jovce Krsteski, who in cooperation with Prof.Ph.D Sasho Kochankovski was preparing the appearance of the manual. Before awarding certificates for completed peer education modules, a group of peer educators who have been actively preparing in the past period performed in front of the present audience with their musical score. From the mental health topics they worked on the past year, they created their text and under the guidance of Jasna Dimitrovska, they managed to create their melody for that text and sang their entire idea in front of the audience at this final event. In the end, there was the awarding of certificates of participation and the sharing of gratitude to everyone who participated and helped this project throughout the year. The Mayor of the Municipality of Bitola, Toni Konjanovski, also addressed some of the young people who participated in the activities, as well as participants from the support groups who emphasized the need to continue this type of activities in the city, because there is no enough for this type of work with marginalized groups. offer at the level of the Municipality of Bitola. The event took place on the premises of Europe House in Bitola, where most of the peer educators were present, of course also their peers, parents, some of the professional services from the schools, representatives of civil society organizations, and representatives from the municipality. The representatives from the Municipality gave words of praise for the invested effort, work, and energy for this project to be completed properly and to contribute to enriching and encouraging interest in this issue at a higher and more professional level. With the publication of the manual, Bitola as a city also joins the trend with its contribution to the topic of how to work with peers on topics important to their mental health and well-being. The manual is free and can be downloaded at the following link. Photos from this Activity in this gallery. The project “Peer school for children and youth mental health” of the Youth Association YMCA Bitola has been implemented in the frames of the regional program for local democracy in Western Balkans2 Reload2, financed by the European Union (EU), implemented by United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The project is co-financed by the Municipality of Bitola. The project has been implemented by the YMCA in cooperation with Poraka Nova and Amos.
Participants’ Impressions from the mental health support groups
Latest News Participants’ Impressions from the mental health support groups Biljana StefanovskaAs a participant in the support group for parents of children with disabilities at the beginning we talked about the problems we face in our daily lives, something that was a familiar story to all of us, but over time it turned into mutual support and we started to we help each other, together fighting the barriers of the system in which we live. Seeing the group made up only of mothers of children with disabilities who are fighting for the welfare of the children my desire in the future together with the help of other participants and collaborators to encourage the fathers of these children to participate in such support groups is with the aim together to overcome the barriers and stereotypes surrounding the adaptation and acceptance of our children in the place where we live and to feel that this struggle is shared. Biljana StojanovskaAt the very beginning of the support groups, I had one thought going through my head, and that was that these would be like any other project we have been involved in, for the sake of order to go through the process or to have some background. However, over time I was very positively surprised by how we were accepted, allowing us to share our problems, and for which we received specific directions to find the root of that problem if we could, or to learn to solve it with appropriate techniques, master or reduce the difficulty of our problem. The group, the members, the collaborators made us feel special as individuals, and not only as parents of children with special needs. In the future, I would like to involve the whole family in this project, i.e. the fathers, as well as the brothers and sisters of the children with special needs, and together we can overcome the problems that occupy us every day. Jasmina GelevskaThis year, for the first time, I joined a support group for parents who have children with disabilities. It was a wonderful experience from which we became more positive people, we received a lot of support, advice, and courage and realized that we are worth more and worth fighting for. All participants have become like one family and our association will continue in the future. We have created a strong bond with the help of the professionals and we are grateful to them for that. I invite all people who are facing this kind of problem not to hesitate and get involved in such groups because together it is easier and we can do anything. My motto: We have no choice to choose, we must fight for ourselves and our loved ones. Bojana ArtinovskaI didn’t know what to expect, it’s my first experience with psychologists. I just knew I had to face my truth. Fortunately, I quickly gained confidence and felt safe in the group. I was able to face more fears and learned to share and at the same time be there for other members of the group ie. to listen. I learned a lot about mental health through theoretical lectures, but the experiential Gestalt exercises helped me to find answers very quickly and opened the possibility for further work with myself. The biggest benefit I think is that I learned to consciously approach problems, knowing that there is a solution, I just have to look at it from a different perspective. Recognizing a problem helps me personally, but also the feeling of support and compassion in me is now more pronounced when I see it in another. I encourage anyone who finds himself or herself in this predicament to join if they can. I think accepting help is one of the hardest things we all have to learn. This was a wonderful experience for me and I am infinitely grateful.
