ABOUT: The Academy for Public Policy (APP) is intended for youth members of the political parties in North Macedonia in order to educate them and raise future political and social leaders, equipped with general and specific values and knowledge about the political processes in the country.
The goal of the APP is to encourage and equip valuable individuals- youth party members to contribute to the normalization, pacification and better articulated expression of their ideas and concepts for the better society and democratic public space. By public space we mean a physical or virtual space that is open and accessible to all peoples, regardless of their distinct differences or diverse identities. In that sense, public spaces need to be valorised as democratic spaces of gathering and political participation, where groups can vocalize their rights, express their differences and at the same time seek a common ground for peaceful interaction and/or co-existence.
Module 1: The Fundamentals September 30, October 1,2 2022 (Leunovo)
Module 2: Turning Ideas and Principles into Action 18,19,20 November, 2022 (Tetovo)
Module 3: You Are Not Alone! (Thriving in a multi-party and plural world) 17,18,19 February., 2023 (Berovo)
Module 4: Media and mediatization of politics 31 March, 1, 2 April (Veles)
Study visit in Zagreb, Croatia 7 -12 May, 2023
The Academy for Public Policy is part of the project “Support to Electoral Reforms in North Macedonia” supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and its partner Forum for Reasonable Policies.
Photos of the participants, lecturers and the overall atmosphere at the Academy for public policy you can find on our social media: Facebook and Instagram
Alumni meeting of three generations from the Academy for Public Policy: Warm up, elections are coming!
The project “Support To Electoral Reforms,” financed by the Swiss Government and implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), with the support from the Forum for Reasonable Policies (FRP), held a productive alumni gathering titled “Warm up: Elections are Coming” on September 30, 2023. This endeavor, a fragment of the larger initiative ‘Support to Electoral Reforms in North Macedonia,’ is curated to refine the synergy between media and youth political entities whilst fostering democratic ethos.
The focal point of the event was the promotion of the Compendium of Public Policy Briefs, a collaborative effort encapsulating the rigorous work of the APP participants. This compendium mirrors the intellectual experience and analytic expertise honed over the program, burgeoning as a tool for propagating public policy discourse beyond the APP alumni community (link to the Compendium)
The event was divided in two programmatic parts:
- Plenary session “Inside a journalist’s mind: How politicians should cope with the media?”
- “In the Box” session
During the plenary session moderated by Gordan Georgiev (FRP) five prominent journalists: Olivera Trajkovska from Win Win, Telma TV, Migena Gorenca from MTV 2, Slavica Arsovska from Sitel TV, Nazim Rashidi from Alsat – M TV, and Dusica Mrgja from 24 TV discussed about the perceptions and expectations they have from the politicians and other public figures.
In the second part “In the Box” session brought a novel approach in the communication between the journalists and the young politicians. Having in mind that the unique experience of a TV appearance (TV interview, press conference or a public statement) brings a lot of pressure and anxiety to the politicians, and noting that young politicians are not particularly familiar with the media, APP alumni had the opportunity to discuss in private (“in the box”) matters of their particular and personal interest with a selected journalist. The five invited journalist were sat separately (“in the box”) and alumni participants had an opportunity to make a tour de table to each journalist and discuss privately issues of their own particular interest.
APP Alumni Weekend – “Ethics and integrity in public sphere”
The event started with a welcome speech by the president of Forum for Reasonable Politics, Gordan Georgiev, the Mayor of Shtip, Ivan Jordanov, and the representative from IFES, Aferdita Haxhijaha Imeri, followed by a plenary sessionon the topic “Ethics in the Public Sphere”.
Participating panellists:
- Lenche Ristoska, Public Prosecutor at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office
- Jovan Ananiev, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University Goce Delchev Shtip
- Nevenka Longurova Girova, Executive Director of Local Community Development Foundation, Shtip
During this session, the panellists discussed various aspects of ethical behaviour in the public sphere using examples from real life (personal versus group integrity, is there justice without morality, ethics during the electoral process, how to deal with the unethical behaviour of a political opponent, the essence of resignation as an ethical principle, corruption/nepotism/cronyism, sustainability of election promises, evidence-based policies, etc.). The session was attended by APP alumni and selected students from the University Goce Delcev in Shtip, moderated by Gordan Georgiev.
The subsequent session was titled “Encounters – Students vs. Young Politicians,” moderated by Stole Naumov from Radio Kanal 77, an experienced journalist in political debates. Four selected students from the University Goce Delcev in Shtip engaged in a debate with four APP alumni in a moderated discussion focused on topics related to political engagement in the social sphere.
The last session on the first day was a special public lecture on the topic “Ethics in times of war” with Prof. Metodi Hadzi Janev, security expert and professor at University “Goce Delcev” – Stip and the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” – Skopje. The public lecture addressed the ethical dilemmas the world is currently facing and the potential implications for the country and the Balkans. The lecturer delivered an attention-grabbing presentation that engaged the general audience.
The second day began with a presentation of a research study on the importance of educating citizens about their civic duties and voting rights, entitled“The Imperative of Informed Citizenship: Discourse on Civic Duties and Voting Rights”, by Elena Ognenovska from TIM Institute.
After a short break, the presentation was followed by the last session – a moderated discussion and group work with the APP alumni titled “Assessing ethical standards in thy own political camp.” The APP participants were divided into five groups, each assigned to discuss a given topic, brainstorm on specific questions, and determine the most important ethical standards that were included in the produced brochure. Topics that were covered during this session were: relations between politicians in their own political party; Mutual relations between politicians from different political parties; Politicians’ relations with the media; Relations between politicians and citizens/civil sector; Conduct of politicians – holders of executive positions in state and public administration. Subsequently, the key takeaways from the discussions were summed up and systematized in a brochure named “Ethical Standards for Self-Assessment.” This document was prepared using references from international and domestic experts on ethics, transparency, and accountability in politics.
