MACEDONIA
Multiethnic youth-seminar in Struga

The seminar

Macedonia’s multicultural city of Struga hosted a political seminar under the topic “Supporting interethnic tolerance and the role of politics on February 8th and 9th which targeted the country’s youth.

The city with its rich heritage is located at Lake Ohrid, close to the Albanian border. The municipality of Struga (including also 50 villages around the city) has a population of 65.809 with 58.8% ethnic Albanians, 34.6 % native Macedonians, 5.5 % Turks and 1.1% Roma.

The event was organized by Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty in cooperation with one of its latest partner-organizations, the Institute for Political and Intercultural Studies. Among its 35 participants were both Macedonian and Albanian young political leaders, members of the youth-section of the Foundation’s partner Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and of the largest Albanian party organization in Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).

From left to right: Rizvan Sjuleimani, Asparuch Panov, Azis Polozhani

Key issues on the agenda were the role of the „Ohrid agreement“ and the impact of decentralization for Macedonia’s democratic and multicultural development. FNF project-assistant Ksenija Cockova was moderating the debate, which also dwelled on various multiethnic models in Southeastern Europe, the integration of immigrants in western European countries and the common EU politics in solving interethnic conflicts. Another point in the discussion was the growing influence of young people in politics and civil society.

Two of the well known Macedonian-Albanian politicians could be won as speakers: The Institute for Political and Intercultural studies` director and former minister for local self-administration Rizvan Sjuleimani, and the former minister for education Azis Polozhani who is currently a member of the Macedonian delegation at the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe. Furthermore, Prof. Bshkim Iseni (University of Lausanne) and Gordan Georgiev (Director of the “Forum” center for strategic studies and documentation) spoke to the audience, as well as the FNF project coordinator for Bulgaria and Macedonia, Asparuch Panov.

Black Drin river has its origin from lake Ohrid.

The lively and comprehensive discussion was a clear proof that a publicly recognized interethnic youth-policy could only been realized on the basis of a long-term education strategy in the region. Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for liberty has again delivered such an event.

The useful dialog among decision-makers from politics and civil society on the one hand and young leaders of Macedonia’s multiethnic municipalities on the other underlined the Balkan-state’s positive development in the last years. Macedonia has become a functioning multiethnic democracy with a realistic European perspective.

Asparuch Panov, Ksenija Cockova