The inaugural session of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, 30 October 2022; Photo: City Hall of Skopje
The Mayor of Skopje, Danela Arsovska in her Manifesto “For Modern Skopje” for the local elections, as one of her promises for the youth of Skopje, also promised to establish the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje as a prerequisite for the formation of a Youth Council of the City of Skopje and the formation of a Youth Centre in Skopje. This promise of Mayor Arsovska is ongoing, i.e., its fulfillment is in progress and we assess it as partially fulfilled.
As one of the promises given to young people, Mayor Arsovska before the local election last October published her “Manifesto for Modern Skopje” promising on page 41 the following:
In order to ensure communication and participation of young people in the decision-making in the City of Skopje, a transparent, inclusive and broad procedure for the establishment of a Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje will be undertaken, leading to the establishment of the Youth Council of the City of Skopje. Its legal basis will be added onto the current provisions of the Statute of the City of Skopje envisaging the establishment of a Youth Centre with strategic documents, a debate club, training for socially disadvantaged young people by organizing events for young people, such as open days for youth, campaigns, tribunes, etc. This Center will encourage and support young people to devote their time to education and to constantly be informed.
On 20h June 2022, City of Skopje announced a public call for participation in the founding of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, as a body competent for the election of the members of the Local Youth Council of the City of Skopje. All interested organizations could submit their proposals for participation in the establishment of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, if they were eligible.
After this step was taken, on 12 August 2022, the Mayor of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, on the occasion of the celebration of International Youth Day, signed the Decision to establish the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje for the very first time. It was in accordance with the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies.
Mayor Arsovska then met with the representatives of the Initiative Board for the establishment of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, that, following the public call, chose the delegates of the Assembly, whose members were representatives of youth organizations, youth representatives from political parties, schools and student organizations and from other forms of youth association.
On 30 October 2022, the inaugural session of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje took place and it was also addressed by Mayor Danela Arsovska. The Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje is responsible for electing the members of the Local Youth Council of the City of Skopje, which, according to the regulation, should represent the interests of young people and create policies targeting young people in Skopje.
Notwithstanding the establishment of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, the announcement of the City of Skopje dated 30th October does not state the exact date of establishment of the Local Youth Council of the City of Skopje. Meta.mk sent questions to the City of Skopje regarding the procedure for establishing the Local Youth Council asking when exactly this body will be set up as one of the mechanisms for youth participation and services secured for young people. We did not receive a response for the City of Skopje with a specific time period for the establishment of the Local Youth Council, just like the Youth Centre.
The City of Skopje continuously work with dedication to improve the living conditions of young people in Skopje. The project for opening the Youth Centre, according to the Manifesto “For Modern Skopje” is in its implementation phase, which will further encourage young people and support them to dedicate themselves to their education and to be constantly informed about all events and projects of their interest, responded the City of Skopje to Meta.mk
Otherwise, the election promise from the Manifesto “For Modern Skopje” of Mayor Arsovska – especially the part for the establishment of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, the Local Youth Council and the Youth Centre – stem from the legal obligation to the governing structure of City of Skopje regulated by the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies, which was adopted by the Parliament of the RNM on 14th January 2020.
Meta.mk published an article on 1st October this year, stating that the municipalities were not interested in implementing the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies, as only 12 percent of the municipalities in the country had established Local Youth Councils. As a reminder, the Law provides for the municipalities to establish Local Youth Councils by last January. Regarding the establishment and opening of the Youth Centres, the municipalities legally have another two years at their disposal. Up to date, they have been opened in only eight Macedonian municipalities.
According to the Monitoring report on the implementation of the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies of the National Youth Council of Macedonia, the City of Skopje is not yet among the municipalities in the country where a Local Youth Council has been established. In other words, the City of Skopje is late with the implementation of the obligations stemming from the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies.
Nevertheless, due to the fact that last October the constituent session took place of the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje – which needs to elect the members of the Local Youth Council of the City of Skopje as well as to set up the Youth Centre in Skopje – we can conclude that fulfilling this promise of Mayor Danela Arsovska, which is also a legal obligation, is ongoing.
SOURCES:
Manifesto “For Modern Skopjе”, checked 21.11.2022;
Website of the City of Skopje (30.10.2022): The Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje was established for the first time, checked 21.11.2022;
Website of the City of Skopje (12.8.2022): Arsovska: On International Youth Day, the Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje was established for the first time, checked 21.11.2022;
Website of the City of Skopje (20.6.2022): Public call published for the participation on the Constitutive Youth Assembly of the City of Skopje, checked 21.11.2022;
Website of the National Youth Council of Macedonia: Monitoring report on the implementation of the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies, checked 21.11.2022;
Meta.mk (1.10.2022): The young aren’t a priority for the municipalities – the implementation of the Law on youth participation in North Macedonia insufficient, checked 21.11.2022;
Meta.mk (15.1.2020): The Law on Youth Participation and creating policies for greater involvement of young people in decision-making was adopted, checked 21.11.2022.
