Contact Information
- Where – Macedonia (The Balkans, Europe)
- Website – www.irz.org.mk
- Contact Person – Damir Neziri
- Email – dneziri@irz.org.mk
- Address – Ljubo Bozinovski, Tetovo, 1200, Republic of Macedonia
- Other – info@irz.org.mk
Areas of Expertise
The Community Development Institute has expertise in a range of areas, including:
Main Aims and Objectives
CDI’s strategic aims are to:
- 1. Increase inter-ethnic tolerance;
- 2. Strengthen democracy and civil society;
- 3. Improvement living conditions for all.
For many, democracy and civil society are relatively new concepts, a new world, and a great amount of effort, time and education are needed in order to understand their real values. Furthermore, if people from different nationalities accept the idea of mutual cooperation and living together for a better future for every one, then it will also follow them throughout their lives and they will be able to present it to the next generation. That would reduce the number of problems and disputes that exist among people with different ethnic nationalities living in these areas. By building the capacity of NGOs, CDI is investing in a better life, better tomorrow.
Upholding the Principles of Conflict Transformation
CDI is actively working to introduce different methods and tools for transforming conflicts. In the past 15 years, CDI has used different methods for conflict transformation including:
- Presentation of good practices for conflict transformation in different cultures and countries by using study visits as a tool;
- Working with children and young people from different ethnic and religious background (with special attention to relations between Macedonian and Albanian young people) in order to raise their awareness about the advantages living in a multicultural environment provides and how can they make use of this diversity;
- Creation of institutional mechanisms that would allow citizens from non-majority groups to articulate their needs, as well as the issues they are facing in society, thereby creating the basis for solving such challenges and building a better multi-ethnic society. This is done by, for instance, by creating Committees for Inter Community Relations, and by providing support for their work.
Where and with Whom
CDI operates on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, covering 30 municipalities in a country that has an ethnically-mixed population. Within these municipalities, more than 60% of the population of the country is covered by CDI’s activities.
CDI’s work covers large urban areas such as Skopje, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Struga, as well as smaller rural areas like Dolneni, Cucer- Sandevo est.
In the implementation of its activities, CDI cooperates with different partners especially on the local level, such as:
- municipal administrations and councils;
- local media,
- local party representatives;
- NGOs;
- Universities and other institutions.
Main Activities in the Field of Conflict Transformation
In the forthcoming years, as in the past, CDI will continue to work on issues of conflict transformation mainly by implementing activities connected to the work of the Committees for Inter-Community Relations. CDI will also lobbying for changes to the law on local self-government in order to empower the work of the Committees for Inter-Community Relation. CDI also plans to continue promoting the Committees for Inter-Community Relations as an effective tool for conflict management and transformation. The third area in which CDI will work concerns capacity building of the members of the Committees for Inter-Community Relations in more than twenty municipalities in order to be enable them to successfully to transform conflicts at the local level.
Recent Comments