As part of the project Support to Electoral Reforms of the Swiss Government, implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), during the past two years several initiatives were carried out focusing on making electoral processes more inclusive and more democratic, administered by a strengthened election administration, and closely monitored by the citizens.
In the past year, Despina Kovacevska, a community mobilizer, has been implementing the initiative “We Have This”, to remind the central government of their promise to restore the Skopje Aqueduct.
– The initiative included a tour of the Skopje Aqueduct with archaeologist Oliver Bojadziev, while our famous artist, Matej Bogdanovski, designed a comic strip for children. It was promoted at workshops in schools, to acquaint the youngest generations with our cultural wealth, as well as to strengthen their awareness for the need of holding elected politicians accountable for the delivery of promises. Authorities were open to providing information about the restoration and a law was enacted to make the Aqueduct a cultural heritage of particular importance, Kovacevska noted.
During 2020 and 2021, Ana Klesova, a certified youth worker, implemented the “Across Borders” initiative. Through this initiative, Klesova monitored the Government’s promise to reopen the Markova Noga-Lemos Border Crossing, which forms part of the foreign policy measures of the 2020-2024 governmental programme.
Another important part of the initiative was the community mobilization following this promise, whose goal was to strengthen cross-border co-operation, as well as to exchange ideas and experiences among youth from North Macedonia and Greece. The initiative covered the entirety of the Southeast Planning Region and its activities were implemented in several cities, such as Valandovo, Gevgelija and Strumica.
Through the initiative “Shar Mountain – Our Natural Home”, Ardonit Ismaili, from Tetovo, monitored the course of implementation of the draft law to declare part of the Shar Mountain a national park and mobilize the community in terms of its importance and benefits for the economy and tourism and development of the society.
– Activities taken within the initiative “Shar Mountain – Our Natural Home” were closely related to the achievement of our goal. Initially, as a community mobilizer, I followed the course of the draft law throughout its enactment finalized in the Assembly of North Macedonia, as well as the establishment of the institutions of the Shar Mountain National Park Directorate. I also organized a public debate in the Popova Shapka resort, between Shar Mountain villagers and panelists (environmental activists and state institutions), who discussed the challenges, importance, benefits and management of the Shar Mountain National Park. This was followed by the design and installation of information boards in the tourist site the Kamyan Waterfalls and the Tek Dushku Park, which was catered at the local community initiative. My initiative was part of the election promises made at the 2020 parliamentary elections, and later it was formalized as a goal with medium priority within the 2021 Programme of the Government of North Macedonia, Ismaili says.
Jetmir Ziba is a young mobilizer who, through his initiative last year, managed to mobilize youngsters from Struga Municipality about the governmental opportunities and subsidies for new businesses and self-employment.
He claims it had been truly challenging to implement the initiative at the time of COVID-19, and calls upon young mobilizers to respond to the new call of the Support to Electoral Reforms in North Macedonia, as it is a unique opportunity to learn from an excellent team of experts.
– Local authorities were available to attend meetings and provide necessary information related to the measure. Given the nature of the initiative which concerns self-employment, the most important actor for cooperation was the Employment Agency. Unfortunately, due to the rise of the COVID-19 cases and the rapid spread of the virus, despite their commitment, the Employment Agency employees were not able to receive us in their offices. Therefore, the meetings were organized with online tools, via online meetings and phone calls, clarifies Ziba.
With a total of MKD 6,600,000 provided by the Swiss Government’s Project, Support to Electoral Reforms in North Macedonia, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), in partnership with the Macedonian Centre for International Co-operation (MCIC), announced a new call for grants for innovative initiatives.
The proposed innovative initiatives will identify the issues in the community that had been flagged to be addressed or promised to be addressed in the electoral programme of the local authorities and/or issues included in the current programme of the local self-government, and mobilize the community to remind the local authorities of the promises made. These should focus on local issues falling within the jurisdiction of the local authorities.
A total of 25 grantees selected from across the eight regions will act locally and in the City of Skopje. A total of MKD 7,500,000 have been pledged as an overall support for these innovative initiatives for 2022/2023.
