Skopje, 8 June 2023 (MIA) – Fourteen schools received grants Thursday for the implementation of joint curricular and extracurricular activities for students of different ethnicities, who have classes in different languages. The goal of the activity is to boost cooperation and trust among the youth, and the funds for their realization have been secured through the Building New Bridges project of the Ministry of Education and Science and the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

The grants were handed out by the Minister of Education and Science Jeton Shaqiri, and the OSCE Ambassador to North Macedonia, Kilian Wahl, who sent a joint message that only by improving relations between the youth, encouraging mutual respect and understanding, can permanent peace be secured in society, which is a significant factor to its overall prosperity.

“Schools are places where young people are developing as persons, maturing by learning about humaneness, moral and ethics, and taking down the myths of several stereotypes, which, for years, have been carried over to new generations in society. We are working to root them out and this activity is to that end, to stimulate schools to bring together students who speak different languages, belong to different ethnic or religious communities,” said Shaqiri.

Ambassador Kilian Wahl said this marks the beginning of a joint undertaking that will extend over several years and bring about significant and positive changes in public educational institutions and municipalities nationwide.

“We are confident that we can make a positive impact on the lives of young people from diverse backgrounds and help create a more inclusive and prosperous future for all in North Macedonia,” said the Ambassador.

The Building New Bridges (BNB) project builds on the 2014-2021 Building Bridges Fund (BB) which introduced a model for integrated education in North Macedonia by supporting schools, municipalities and civil society organizations (CSOs) to pair children of different backgrounds and languages through joint extracurricular activities.

This new project further aims at building inclusive societies that cherish and take pride in cultural pluralism and respect for tolerance, dialogue and co-operation, in a climate of mutual trust and understanding as the best guarantees of social peace and security.

The BNB is currently supported by the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Photo: MIA