On February 11th, Saturday, at Public Room in Skopje, Ekvalis organized a panel discussion with two thematic panels. The topic of the first panel was the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the existence of the Association for Educational Development - Ekvalis, while the second panel was about the launch and presentation to the public of the new Youth Network for Equality.
At the first birthday panel, several members and close associates of Ekvalis spoke about their experiences with the organization over the past 5 years. Elena Danova - a youth worker and educator in Ekvalis, Selmin Nesimovski - a long-term volunteer in Ekvalis and Dzejlan Veliu - from the Dunja Social Center shared their stories, and their conversation was moderated by the program coordinator of Ekvalis - Angel Dimitrievski.
At the beginning of the discussion, the panelists emphasized the role that Ekvalis has played in their lives, shared personal experiences and cherished moments in the organization. They emphasized that Ekvalis is one of the few organizations that works directly with young people from marginalized groups. They also pointed out that the organization understands that there is no perfect world, but that is precisely why it strives to detect and map major problems, and enables and supports young people in solving them.
Ekvalis celebrated its birthday this year under the motto "5 years of Ekvalis - 5 years of perseverance". The panelists addressed what this perseverance means to them, first as individuals, and then as members of groups, communities, and of course the society in which we all live. They explained why perseverance is such an important concept and agreed that it is precisely because of perseverance that Ekvalis still exists and has been fighting for justice for half a decade.
The panelists closed the first panel with a few wishes and motivational words for the future of Ekvalis - let's celebrate both the tenth and fifteenth birthdays, with more people and in bigger halls, thus wishing the association to persevere and continue to expand in the years to come.
After a short break, the second panel dedicated to the launch of the new Youth Network for Equality began, whose panelists were Filip Icovski, Jovana Kostentsova and Doni Goshevska - all members of the Network, and the moderator was the program assistant at Ekvalis - Nadica Banishka. The Youth Network for Equality was established as part of the "Youth United for Equality" project supported by the European Youth Foundation and the Council of Europe.
They started the panel by talking about the three fields in which the network will work - multi-ethnic coexistence, gender equality and LGBTI equality. They emphasized how in all three fields of action there are many visible and invisible problems that young people face. They shared their experiences, which were part of the reasons why they decided to join the Network.
Then the panelists pointed out that the Network consists of 17 young people from all over the country who are horizontally organized and function as an autonomous body within Ekvalis. They also emphasized that the Network aims to expand over time and that other youth will have the opportunity to join through future educational events. The network will operate not only in Skopje and big cities, but in all places where there are members. The reason for this is because smaller places are usually more conservative, and marginalized youth in these places have a greater need for activism. The network currently has members from 10 different settlements across the country.
The members of the Network closed the second panel with several messages to the public, especially the youth. They emphasized that the power for change lies precisely with the youth, and emphasized the need to be loud and persistent in order to achieve the desired changes in society. The members of the Network encouraged other young people, if they witness injustices, to take action and start fighting for what they believe in.
Written by: Denis Rajhl