On the International Day of Youth it is important to remind ourselves and our national institutions on how important partner the youth is!

This year everything has changed due to the pandemic. The youth have also become one of the groups that whitnesses so many challenges in their everyday lives and personal development, starting from education, transfers from the conventional into newly created educational systems, support they get from the institutions, ending up with their changed or unfortunately lost working places.

The current situation in North Macedonia gives us a hope that the institutions yet to be formed are about to put the young people high on their agendas of priorities. Democratic values are yet to be learned and nourished, youth participation desperately needs empowering, and the educational system still lacks modernization and proper quality. However, the highest priority now is the safety of the young people and the process of their development, both personal and professional.

With hopes that the youth will become a group that is meaningfully included in the processes of decision making and policy creation on the national level, I would like to celebrate the International Youth Day and remind ourselves how present and resourceful the youth is!

Stefani Spirovska (North Macedonia) is president of Youth Educational Forum, a youth organization based in Skopje, North Macedonia. She has worked in the field of non-formal education, improving the formal education system, and advocated for youth participation and the creation of quality youth policies for the past 5 years. Stefani is a practiced debater who studies civil law and appreciates the benefits of non-formal education and youth organizing.