SKOPJE– The RYCO Local Branch Office in North Macedonia organized the opening event for the Western Balkans School Exchange Scheme “Superschools” in Skopje on Wednesday, 13 October 2021.
The event was attended by the Heads of the educational sectors in municipalities in North Macedonia. It was an honour, for the Superschools opening event in North Macedonia, to have the support of the relevant institutions represented by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mr Arafat Shabani and the addresses by the respected Ambassadors, Head of Delegation of the European Union H.E. Ambassador David Geer, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to North Macedonia H.E. Anke Holstein and Ambassador of the French Republic to North Macedonia H.E. Cyrille Baumgartner, together with the Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in North Macedonia Mr Vladimir Gjorgevski, Superschools Program Coordinator Mr Astrit Rexhepi and RYCO Local Program Officer Ms Tanja Paneva.
The event was opened and moderated by Mr Gjorgjevski who greeted the participants and stressed the importance of youth exchange in the Western Balkans region as a factor of creating an environment for further promotion of the reconciliation process.
Furthermore, in their addresses, the respected guests, all shared the vision of a future in which young people are building bridges towards mutual understanding and cooperation. The Superschools exchange program is seen as a mechanism to strengthen the connections between young people in the Western Balkan region and to further promote uniting on common grounds.
In addition, Mr Rexhepi shared success stories, good examples, and the benefits of the youth exchange programs. He also added that he believes in the mission of the Superschools project with the hopes for the program to produce long-lasting positive results.
In the end, the info session regarding the project took place, with general information, step-by-step application procedure, and explanation of the Superschools platform, presented by Ms Tanja Paneva. The attendees were encouraged to transfer all of the useful information to their communities in order to reach and inform secondary schools in all municipalities timely and equally so they all have a chance to apply and potentially become a Superschool.