OSCE Mission to Skopje promotes youth engagement in local decision-making in Kumanovo

SKOPJE, 27 February 2014 – Encouraging youths from different ethnic communities to get involved in local decision-making is the aim of an event launched in Kumanovo today.

The event, which brings together representatives from youth NGOs, Kumanovo municipality and different institutions aims to enhance the advocacy capacity of the Local Youth Council. Participants will also discuss and raise awareness of the Local Youth Strategy, which was developed by the Youth Council and Kumanovo municipality.

The Local Youth Council is a non-formal network of youth organizations established recently with support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

“With this initiative the Local Youth Council seeks to bridge ethnic divides through the political participation of young people,” said the Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Ralf Breth.  “We firmly believe that the project will have an impact on improving relations between ethnic communities and help better address the roots of security incidents involving youth.”

Mayor of Kumanovo Zoran Damjanovski added: “I fully support the implementation of this project aiming at informing the public of the local youth strategy and motivating young people to work together on its implementation. I hope our further co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Skopje and UNDP Office will benefit our society at large.”

The project was initiated by Kumanovo municipality and is supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, UNDP Office, Center for Intercultural Dialogue (CID) and the Agency for Youth and Sports.