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.

Youth Council in Bitola

On February 2, 2022, the constitutive session of the local Youth Council took place in Bitola Municipality. In addition to its project contributions, the YMCA actively engages in the city by participating in the local Volunteering Council. Now, the YMCA extends its involvement in the Youth Council with Ivana assuming the role of President. We extend our best wishes to her and the entire team for success! Ivana Atanasovska was chosen as the Youth Council President from two candidates. Mayor Toni Konjanovski addressed the nine council members, expressing hopes for their future endeavors and encouraging the generation of constructive ideas and proposals. These efforts aim to retain youth in the city and collaborate with local self-government to improve the Municipality’s future. Gabriela Ilievska, the Council President, conveyed her belief that the well-known saying “youth is our future” will be substantiated through the Youth Council’s actions, demonstrating the significant impact young individuals can make in preventing the emigration of their peers. Both the Council President and the Mayor stressed the Municipality’s readiness for continuous collaboration with the Youth Council, anticipating numerous initiatives and projects within legal constraints.