OSCE Mission to Skopje supports intercultural tolerance among youth

SKOPJE, 18 September 2008 - Young people learned about multiculturalism and how to promote intercultural dialogue and tolerance during an OSCE-supported course that ended in Ohrid today.

The five-day course, initiated by the Centre for Intercultural Dialogue-Kumanovo, and supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, tackled stereotypes and prejudices, intercultural learning and team building.

"The participation of young people in a multicultural society is essential because they learn how to accept each other's diversities and how to foster understanding and tolerance in future generations," said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Giorgio Radicati.

Students from different ethnic groups said they found the course dynamic, adding they appreciated the mixed ethnic group of trainers.

"The group was so creative and strong that it gave me a creative power to do initiatives in my city. We are like one big team and this is the most important to me," said Valdeta Pajaziti, an ethnic Albanian student from Tetovo.

The course was part of a project called Celebrating Multiculturalism that started in May 2008 and will continue until the end of this year as a contribution to the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.