Donors: Foundation Bureau de Helling Democracy Development Abroad, Nederland.
Implementation time: 03/2017-12/2017
Budget: 13.797 EUR
Overall objective: To contribute creation of a democratic green program raised from the citizens themselves, which will be the main commitment for the Green Institute and its significant role in the fight for the green policies in the country.
Brief description: The project was follow up of the conference of the Green institute, September 24-25th 2016, “Green policies as catalysts for development of Macedonian democracy and the quality of life”, when our organization defined priorities and topics:
- Environment and the quality of life;
- Green economy and green Jobs;
- Human rights and democracy;
- Social Justice.
As the local elections were coming up in autumn 2017, there was a need for an assessment of the local problems of the Macedonian citizens and creating of green program. The activities were taking place in 23 municipalities, which was an opportunity to ask the green activists and green-minded people to define local priorities and prepare for promoting and lobbing green policies in the next local councils. The activities were implemented in 3 components:
- Mapping the citizen’s needs;
- Creating Green Platform through discussions with local stakeholders;
- Promoting the green program with local green policies.
This green program was finally a definition of our mission as Green Institute for the following period, as an actor dedicated to democracy and improvement of quality of life in Macedonian society.
* We could not follow the proposed project precisely due to the political crisis in Macedonia. We changed the agenda partly, keeping the main objectives and reaching а high visibility and influence on main green topics.
Activities:
A. Mapping the citizen’s needs
1. Survey with a questionnaire and analysis - focus groups in 23 municipalities. The main issues detected: lack of environmental protection, pollution in the big cities, mine pollution, law quality of life, urban chaos, lack of social justice and human rights.
2. Meetings with citizens in 23 municipalities - from April to July, in Skopje with 6 city municipalities, Kriva Palanka, Dojran, Gevgelija, Valandovo, Ohrid, Struga, Kocani, Kumanovo, Tetovo, Gostivar, Shtip, Probistip, Bitola, Prilep, Delchevo, Berovo, Lozovo), between 15 and 60 visitors. The main issue was protection of environment and especially stop for gold mining, as the hottest issue. Green Institute was a part of the anti-mining movement, developed in Macedonia the last 2 years.
B. Creating Green Platform through discussions with local stakeholders
3. First International conference: The experience of European Greens in the fight against mine pollution (22.8.2017) - over 60 participants in Skopje, including from the green party DOM and EGP Committee. Speakers: co-president of the European Greens, MEP Reinhard Butikofer; president of DOM, Liljana Popovska; activist from Bulgarian Greens Daniela Bozinova; activist from anti-mining movement, Dimce Balevski. Public lobbing against dangerous mining. Significant media coverage.
4. Youth seminar (1.-3.9.2017) - 40 participants in Kriva Palanka, green youth activists for democratic Macedonia.
5. Second International Conference: Against mines opening (10.10.2017) - over 70 participants in Skopje, supported by Bulgarian Greens. Speakers: Director of the Environmental inspectorate, Miroslav Bogdanovski, President of DOM, Liljana Popovska, coordinator of the Balkan Green Network, Borislav Sandov, anti-mining activists from Gevgelija, Bogdanci and Valandovo - Angel Nakov, Jovan Dzalev and Goran Baleski. Significant media coverage.
C. Promoting the green program with local green policies
6. Promoting the green program during the pre-campaign period of the Local Elections on 15 October, 2017. Opportunity for the Green Institute and all green activists in the country, to lobby for changes in the local policy in the next period.
7. First conference of the green activists with the elected green councilors (26.10.2017) - 40 participants, announced their priorities for green municipalities: fight against pollution, especially from gold mining, against urban chaos, for green economy and green jobs. Built a new councilor’s network with coordinators.
8. Second conference of the green activists with the elected green councilors (28.12.2017) - 40 participants, shared experience and challenges facing in their municipality. Agreement to work together in order to find better way of solving the green problems.
Results:
- The green agenda was main topic at the Local Elections 2017 in Macedonia at most of the party lists. It was a common contribution of the green movement in the country.
- There were 21 green councilor from the green party elected, but also many from other parties who were not formally declared as green, but with a green mindset.
- During the elections, the Law for urban greenery was put in Parliamentary procedure after 7 years of waiting, as a proposal of the 2 green parliamentarians, with support of the coalition partners in the Government. It was formally adopted in January 2018.
- After the elections, the Law for mineral resources was put in Parliamentary procedure by the 2 green parliamentarians, to ban cyanide and sulfuric acid leaching in open pit mines. It was strongly supported by 40 environmental organizations and after a 1 year of struggle in the parliament and on media, finally adopted in January 2019.
* An atmosphere was created in which the green agenda was imposed as advanced and an expression of the will of the citizens, so several legal solutions were passed that have been waiting for years.