Education is a means to bridge divisions in society, says OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in Skopje

Education needs to be a tool to overcome, not to cement, divisions, said the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier in meetings with his interlocutors during a visit to Skopje and Tetovo between 2 and 5 October 2017.

Zannier, for the first time since taking up the position of OSCE High Commissioner, met the country’s President Gjorgje Ivanov, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, Education and Science Minister Renata Deskova, and Deputy Prime Minister for the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and the Political System Hazbi Lika.

He conveyed the message in his meetings that “Education is a means to bridge divisions in society. Discouraging segregated education will remain at the core of the engagement of the High Commissioner on National Minorities in the country.”

He also held meetings with the Nansen Dialogue Centre Skopje and members of the diplomatic community.

He visited the South East European University (SEEU) campus in Tetovo and met the University Rector Zamir Dika and Director of the Max van der Stoel Foundation and Vice-President of the University Board Veton Latifi as well as other board and management members.

“The SEEU is still today associated with the name of Max van der Stoel, who was its founding father. Today more than ever his legacy needs to be honoured. Providing tools for critical thinking and stimulating youngsters’ curiosity towards the world and the others is the best way to move beyond divisions in educational structures and in society,” Zannier said.

By and large, he was encouraged by the commitment of governmental counterparts in a number of areas relevant to the HCNM mandate, ranging from inter-community relations to education to the use of languages to improve neighbourly relations. He offered the HCNM’s support, alongside that of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, to reform efforts by the authorities in those areas and underlined the importance of upcoming local elections going smoothly and consolidating stability in the country.

During the visit, Zannier was accompanied and supported by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Nina Suomalainen, and the Mission’s staff.