The recent consultant meeting in Skopje held from 19 until 21 September 2023, gathered education professionals, both local and international, to discuss critical issues and planned activities for the "Quality Education for All – North Macedonia" project.
The meeting served as a platform for engaging discussions on pivotal educational matters. Participants unanimously recognised the importance of practical implementation and collaborative efforts among stakeholders to drive substantial change in the education sector.
Key outcomes emerged from the meeting, primarily focusing on the forthcoming pilot phase of the project. Twenty-five pilot schools will lead the way in enhancing their Inclusive and Democratic Learning Environments.
Each pilot school will undergo a comprehensive training and mentoring programme, facilitated by local consultants. Core teams will include a school director, two teachers, and a professional such as a psychologist, pedagogue, or social pedagogue. Each school will also involve two students, one parent, two additional teachers, and one community member, forming a team of ten individuals.
Local consultants will play a pivotal role in this endeavor, providing guidance throughout the programme, running from October 2023 to June 2025. A unified approach is fostered through the sharing of training materials among participants, ensuring a cohesive perspective as local consultants engage with the pilot schools. The schools are organised into four clusters, each comprising either six or seven schools, to enhance coordination and facilitate the sharing of best practices.
Schools will collaborate with civil society organisations and other community stakeholders to implement the democratic school governance model. The core activity will be capacity building, which includes training, mentoring and peer exchanges for teachers on democratic citizenship education, competences for democratic culture, and the whole school approach.
Furthermore, the Council of Europe's dedication to education for democratic citizenship and human rights education was prominently featured throughout the meeting. The Council's flagship project, the Reference Framework for Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC), emerged as a crucial tool to equip young people with the competences needed to champion human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. It also focuses on fostering active participation in democratic cultures and promoting peaceful coexistence in multicultural societies.
The project, "Quality Education for All - North Macedonia," is implemented by the Council of Europe and funded by Germany, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia. The project will run from December 2022 to November 2025.
