OSCE Mission to Skopje supports inter-ethnic dialogue among young people

SKOPJE, 23 November 2007 - Promoting contacts among young people from different ethnic groups and helping them develop leadership skills is the aim of a series of OSCE-organized seminars that began in Struga today.

"The seminars will help young people interact with youth from other ethnic groups and equip them with skills so that they can organize inter-cultural initiatives in their schools and communities," said Bernard Segarra, the Head of the Confidence Building Unit at the OSCE Mission.

The OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje is organizing the three-day seminar in co-operation with the non-governmental organization Centre for Management of Conflicts (CMC) with support from the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the Spainish government.

The seminars are being organized for the fifth year, and participants from previous years are now leading the courses.

"These young 'agents of change' must help create a society that deals with inter-ethnic issues as part of normal daily life. Then, we can even become a model to follow for other countries," said Albert Hani, Director of the CMC.