Beneficiaries and partners attended the Fourth Steering Committee meeting of the European Union and Council of Europe joint action ‘Promotion of Diversity and Equality in North Macedonia’. The meeting was a great opportunity for beneficiaries and partners to discuss the activities of the action, the achievements and the results so far, as well as the future initiatives that are planned for the upcoming period.
The members of the Steering Committee, including beneficiaries from the institutions, our partners from the EU Delegation in Sкopje, as well as representatives of the NGOs, shared their thoughts and ideas regarding the improvement of the coordination and raised the possibility for new cooperation opportunities. The members tackled the importance of focusing more on the outreach, making sure that the results of the activities are being shared to as many people as possible, considering the relevance and of the organised activities which may be helpful, important and interesting for the citizens. During the meeting, participants had also the opportunity to discuss about the results from the National LGBTI Helpline, supported by the Action, with around 115 calls from 60 people.
Important discussions between partners and beneficiaries were focused on the possibilities to strengthen the co-operation and coordination and to make joint efforts aimed at combating hate speech and support to the anti-discrimination reforms. This will include raising awareness and capacity building activities.
During the 4th Steering Committee meeting the project team highlighted the most important activities that are underway, such as: the support to the harmonisation of the anti-discrimination legislative framework; the launching of the national campaign against hate speech: Block the Hatred. Share the Love; the HELP online course on anti-discrimination with the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors as well as the preparation of the Anti-Discrimination manual, which is being consulted with several different beneficiaries and partners.
