OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities presents first ever children's illustrated Macedonian-Albanian/Albanian-Macedonian dictionary

SKOPJE, 10 November 2017 – OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier presented the first ever children’s illustrated Macedonian-Albanian/Albanian-Macedonian dictionary for primary schools to Education Minister Renata Deskoska in Skopje today. This innovative tool was developed by the HCNM and the Nansen Dialogue Centre, Skopje, and supported financially by the German government.

The dictionary continues the HCNM’s long-standing support for policies aimed at overcoming segregation in schools and in wider society as a whole.

Handing the dictionary to Deskoska, Zannier explained that learning languages at the earliest stages opens doors to opportunities in our increasingly inter-connected world.  He emphasized that while language is an important element of one’s identity, it is an equally important tool for communication and co-operation. Overcoming language barriers helps to prevent segregation in education and helps to bridge divides in society.

The dictionary, which will be distributed to schools across the country, contains 4,500 entries per language and is excerpted from the curriculum for higher grades of primary schools. It features short overviews of grammar for both languages and a selected number of age-appropriate illustrations. It was authored by a team of experts from the St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and the Tetovo State University.

The dictionary is also available for free online and as an app for android and iOS devices. These versions are enriched with audio recordings of pronunciations.

The High Commissioner also visited the South East European University in Tetovo, where he spoke about education as a means to bridge divides in diverse societies. “Diversity must be seen as a resource, rather than as a burden,” he said. “Education must aim at empowering new generations with the necessary tools to communicate with each other and be constructive members of a diverse society.”