Today, I had another great opportunity to explore Macedonia with my ISC colleagues, Agron, Gordana, and Jeton.
Agron and I began the day with a drive to Gostivar, one of the largest Macedonian cities with a population just over 80,000. Gostivar is situated in the foothills of one of the most important mountains in the region: Šar Planina Mountain.
While there, I conducted two individual consultations with Leader NGOs. The first was with the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI), an organization established in 1994 whose mission is the promotion and protection of human rights, development of civil society, and providing support for democratic processes, peace and stability.
Their CSSP project will help citizens and local government officials to work closely together to improve local conditions, provide support to those who are in need, and promote more open and responsible local municipal governments. The project will be implemented in Debar, Gostivar, Kicevo, and Tetovo.
In the afternoon, I met with Mesecina, a Roma non-governmental organization that was established in 1993 in Gostivar. Mesecina is improving the status of marginalized groups and the Roma community in particular. Mesecina participates in the National Working Group responsible for the implementation of activities of the Roma Decade in the Republic of Macedonia, and was also active in the process of designing a Local Action Plan for the Roma Decade.
This consultation required translation and I am very grateful for Jeton's tremendous skill in this area. Assisted by Gordana, he helped get us through some tough and very productive discussions.
Mesecina’s project (as part of the Decade of Roma Inclusion) will provide assistance to the Local Action Plans in Gostivar and Stip; and will provide support for two Citizens Advisory Centers that give information and advice to the Roma community on civil rights. This project will support the Centers to continue providing their services and to work with local and/or national government on issues raised by citizens.
