As key agents of change in shaping both the present and the future, young people have an important role in combating hate speech, bullying and other types of harassment. In this context, several workshops were organised during May and June, across three primary schools in the Municipality of Aerodrom in Skopje.

The workshops engaged students in the 8^th and 9^th grades as well as parents and teachers. Around 150 children and more than 50 teachers and parents participated in these workshops where they explored fundamental concepts such as antidiscrimination, equality, and the fight against hate speech. Participants shared they experiences and discussed practical strategies about how to recognise bullying and how to take measures to prevent discrimination, hate speech and any form of violence within schools and in the wider community.

As part of these efforts, the European Union and Council of Europe anti-discrimination action in co-operation with the Institute for Human Rights in North Macedonia are developing two important guidelines aimed at recognising and preventing hate speech and bullying in schools: one tailored for parents and the other for teachers. These resources will be published soon.

This initiative is conducted in the framework of the action on “Combating Hatred and Intolerance in North Macedonia”, part of the EU and the Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.