Donors: Foundation Bureau de Helling Democracy Development Aboard, Nederland.
Implementation time: 03/2018-12/2018
Budget: 25.561 EUR
Overall objective: To build capacities of the green-minded people, to learn how to solve green issues, to cooperate with experts and civil activists and to promote their activities.
Brief description: The project consists of organizing thematic conferences, workshops and trainings for green activists.
Activities:
1. Training of green counselors (3.3.2018) - 33 participants. Sharing impressions about their new obligations after the Local Elections in October 2017, preparing personal action plans and establishment of cooperation and coordination.
2. Retreat meeting (24-25.3.2018) in Berovo - 18 green activists, strategic planning for green policies.
3. Meeting of green youths (31.3.2018) - 44 participants, strengthening their network and agreement on common program and principles.
4. Conference: How to get green urbanism? (05.05.2018) - 45 participants in Skopje, environment expert and local councilors from municipalities in Skopje as speakers, among which the chair of the Local Council in Centar municipality, Jana Belcheva Andreevska. Skopje’s unlawful urbanization was discussed, current state with urbanism, how to prevent harmful detailed urban plans contrary to the general urban plan, how to apply the concept of roof gardens with sun panels for a healthier and cheaper living.
5. Conference: Four seasons ecotourism in the Ohrid region (10.06.2018) - 74 participants in touristic place Ohrid (West Macedonia), followed by media. Director of the State agency for promotion of tourism, State secretary from the Ministry of environment and urban planning, President of the tourism organization, NGO activists from Ohrid area as speakers. Perspectives for development of ecotourism in the Ohrid region were discussed, keeping protected areas, culture as factor in tourism, ecotourism offer in the Ohrid region for all 4 seasons.
6. Training: Media cooperation and use of social media (23.-24.06.2018) - 47 and 38 participants. Green councilors and activists improved their communication skills for media and learned how to use social media. Trainers: Macedonian TV presenter Ognen Janeski and Mirjam Tiems from from Bureau De Helling, Nederland.
7. Conference: Municipalities without waste (7.7.2018) - 95 participants in Shtip (East Macedonia), followed by media. It was opened by the Mayor of Municipality of Shtip, Blagoj Bocvarski, while speakers were representatives from the state institutions and local activists, among which State Secretary of the Ministry of environment and urban planning, Ana Petrovska. Challenges for waste management in municipalities were discussed, how to reach efficient waste collection from households and primary selection, construction shot as an important resource, how to overcome the lack of efficient regional waste management system. Second panel was a workshop with 4 thematic groups: Primary selection of household waste, Selection of a location for a regional sanitary landfill, Collection of household waste, Processing of a construction waste.
8. Media training of youth green activists: Public appearance and use of social networks (25.-26.8.2018) - 33 and 20 participants in Shtip. The young greens gained skills for using social media. The trainers were Ognen Janeski from Macedonia and Rosalie Smit from from Bureau De Helling, Netherlands.
9. National Conference: How to get cleaner air in cities? (16.11.2018) - 52 participants in Skopje at a time of high air pollution, as an action to call the institutions for urgent measures. Speakers were civil activists (Nevena Georgievska) and representatives from the Inspectorate of the City of Skopje (Head of Department, Miroslav Bogdanovski) and Ministry of environment and urban planning (State secretary, Ana Petrovska and Head of Department for monitoring, Svetlana Gjorgjeva). There were over 10 media present (few videos from national media):
Kanal 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zCX0b6MZrY
Sitel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfxLyf3-uis
Telma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VIX5LVq9bI
Alsat, albanian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYnDpiGeM2Y
10. Training: Development of media strategy and action plan (15.-16.12.2018) – 44 and 15 participants in Skopje. Training workshops with local councilors and green activists; they presented their achievements during 2018; created action plan for 2019; created media strategy for the green agenda, to make stronger impact. The trainer was Ognen Janeski as proffesionalist.