Period: May-December 2017
Aim: advancing intercultural dialogue and the relations between different nationalities in Kumanovo.
For this purpose, CID has identified the need to mobilize young people in a strong inter-ethnic dialogue and joint activities that can be reflected in the daily lives of different communities in the city.
Objectives:
- Strengthening the inter-ethnic dialogue at two levels: institutional, though targeting the selected municipalities and among the communities, through targeting the local civil society and youth.
- Strengthening the capacities of young people from the local community in Kumanovo for active involvement and promotion of interethnic dialogue and cooperation in their communities at the municipal level
- Development of intercultural language courses for local community members through which they can achieve better learning and intercultural exchange
- Promoting the MultiKulti youth center as a space for dialogue between citizens of different ethnic, religious, linguistic backgrounds including different sexes and ages.
Activities:
This project will involve activities for the young ethnically-mixed population of Kumanovo. It shall encompass Youth Workshops that will bring together young students and intercultural courses for citizens in affected neighbourhoods of Kumanovo, with an aim to bring together the local population by conducting joint activities to strengthen ties between members of different ethnic groups that would allow them to coordinate responses and develop joint solutions to future problems regarding the inter-ethnic situation in the Municipality.
Activity 1: Youth Workshop 2017 for youth from Kumanovo
Series of Youth Workshops to be organized outside Kumanovo will provide a space for high school students to interact with members of different ethnic groups. Mixed groups of students from three high schools in Kumanovo will take part in these workshops where they will learn intercultural competences, community trust building, team building, youth engagement and civic participation among other competencies. There will be three workshops involving groups of 28 students from each of the selected high schools. One advanced workshop will be organized involving groups of 10 students from each school (total of 30 participants) selected based on their engagement during the previous workshop.
Besides promoting contact and communication among students, the project also aims to empower students and promote organizing a joint activity in the Municipality. For that reason, we have jointly identified a marathon as the best option to fulfill these requirements
Activity 2: Intercultural language courses
With the aim to further promote the MultiKulti Center as a space for dialogue between citizens from different ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender and age backgrounds, an inter-cultural course for the local community members will be designed. Stemming from language courses, members of the local community will perform various activities related to the cultural heritage and practices of the other community and engage in common activities to promote common values and respect for other.
The courses will develop linguistic competences and cross-cultural dialogue. Main focus will be put on the inter-cultural competence, knowledge, and skills regarding diversity as defined by UNESCO – competence of “living together in diverse societies”