ALBANIA/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA/ NORTH MACEDONIA – Within the second RYCO Open Call for Project Proposals co-financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, the High Municipality School Goce Delchev in North Macedonia, in partnership with Dhaskal Todri High School in Albania and Blessed Ivan Merz Catholic School Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented the project “Together we can”.
The project took place from August 2019 to November 2020 and connected high school students and teachers from the region through intercultural dialogue. Students were empowered to learn more about cultural differences and similarities in the Western Balkans and to promote them through various activities.
“With our project we influenced the reduction of ethnocentrism, stereotypes and touched upon the ethnic, religious, language and national aspects of the region. Through mutual work, activities and intercultural dialogue we changed the current degree of social inclusion and cohesion,” Project Coordinator Mr Gorge Prochkov stated.
During the project activities, high school students learned more about other cultures in the Western Balkan region and explored new ways of interacting with one another. The project helped them establish intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding as well as to enhance their skills and competences.
“By participating in the project activities, we learned a lot about youth in the Western Balkans,” one of the project participants Igli Arapi added.
On the other hand, project participants Milan Bokan underlined: “As a participant in the project, I learned that differences are not a barrier but a way to connect with other cultures,”
In conclusion of the project, organizers and participants implemented multicultural workshops and promoted their newly gained knowledge by preparing a final brochure on the cultural topics they learned about.
