Researcher at Reactor, Youth representative of North Macedonia of the RYCO Governing Board
Blazhen Maleski
Dear Buzzers,
Nice to meet you all, and thank you for your attention!
My name is Blazhen Maleski. I’m a youth researcher at Reactor – Research in Action and the youth representative of North Macedonia of the RYCO Governing Board. On the 24th of January, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on youth and skills attended by various actors in the Europe House. Why? Because 2023 is the European Year of Skills, following up on the 2022 European Year of Youth. Having that in mind, we as a society and country stand at a crossroads in strengthening skills and youth. The European Commission highlights the word “skills” 10 times in its 2022 Report on North Macedonia. Unfortunately, the context is mainly negative, implying the lack of funds for developing young people’s skills, low levels of institutional support, and scarce and inadequate expertise within the institutions.
Bearing that in mind, the panellists addressed the persistent problems and burning issues we face as a youth community. I believe that the European Year of Skills could help us get a new perspective on this issue and give us an additional push towards investing further resources in training and upskilling, especially in skills that are in demand and relevant for labour market needs.
Let’s not miss this opportunity or waste our time. Long-term unemployed young people lack the skills needed for today’s job market, and local businesses have a qualified worker shortage. How can we overcome the current situation and improve it? Investing our resources in youth programs and finding ways to support skills development is desperately needed.
Beyond Food Aid Initiative
January feels like the longest month of the year. It’s also a month dressed in a festive robe: a festive season all about sharing beautiful stories and moments. On the initiative of the EU Ambassador David Geer, we set up a project to tell a new story about sharing moments and doing something kind and truthful for those who need it the most.
At the beginning of January, we collected 30 food packages for socially disadvantaged families. The young European ambassadors joined the action organized by the EU Delegation and the Food Bank. During December, the foods donated by the EU Delegation and Europe House employees were collected and stored. On January 4th, in joint action, the EU Ambassador and the young European Ambassadors helped prepare the food parcels for distribution. It was our first action of this kind, and we gained invaluable experience from working with Food Bank, which very soon came in handy in reaching out to vulnerable families. We had a wonderful time preparing all the food. Led by the noble feeling that, at least for a moment, we’d make somebody happy, we headed to Delchevo the next day. Our mission was accomplished when we delivered the food parcels to families in need. However, we shall not stop here, and the project will continue to run in the coming months regularly.
International Day of Education – a panel discussion on European Year of skills
The European Year of Skills is ahead of us: it’s a reflection of the challenges and opportunities brought to the labour market by the digital and green transitions, which call for new skills of the workforce.
The European Year of Skills aims at boosting competitiveness, investment in training and upskilling opportunities to make sure that workers acquire the skills demanded on the labour market, including digital skills.
According to Eurostat, right now only 37% of adults follow training on a regular basis, and many of them lack basic digital skills. The initiatives will also focus on the activation of more women, young people and vulnerable groups on the labour market.
The EU Commission announced a significant increase in funds for specific programs of the European Union, such as ESF+, Horizon Europe, Digital Europe Programme and others. But, what does that mean, and what can we expect locally? What is the current playing field for skill-building and retraining? The first significant event organized at Europe House served as a starting and reference point for 2023 activities. On the International Day of Education, January 23, 2023, we organized a conference on the labour market and youth.
Representatives from the business sector, civil society organizations and public sector institutions made observations and suggestions concerning the workforce and ways of improving necessary skills over the coming year. This year’s main focus of attention shall be engaging stakeholders in enhancing collaboration and joint action.
In addition to mapping our future events, we’ve created a questionnaire to see which skills are lacking within the existing workforce. Please answer the questionnaire in the link to be able to find the most suitable skills development training workshops.
Meet the third generation of Young European Ambassadors
New year, new events, new YEAs!!!
Meet the third generation of Young European Ambassadors! This generation will continue to brainstorm new ideas complementing the experiences of the previous two generations of Young Ambassadors so that we can always meet most of the needs of the youth.
To get to know them better, we asked them the following question:
What makes you BUZZ?
Martin NIKOLOVSKI: What makes me buzz is the international journalistic education I have received and my willingness to contribute to the democratic development of my country via different types of media.
Nikola Mihail ANGELOVSKI: Interacting with people, sharing and inspiring new ideas while looking for creative alternatives for day-to-day tasks!
Rita BEHADINI: Getting out of my comfort zone and growing, travelling and discovering new places, fighting for women’s rights and being loud about it.
Shefkija ALASANI DIKA: Being active and productive is the most important thing to me. It motivates me not only to learn and grow professionally but it has also shaped me into the person I am!
Stanisha STANKOVIKJ: When I manage to do something positive for my environment and make a valuable contribution to someone’s life.
Veronika GIJOVSKA: Exploring the world and new opportunities every day!
Aleksandar LAZOVSKI: Getting up every day knowing that I have the wonderful privilege of innovating and designing projects that help make the world a better place today than it was yesterday.
Ana Maria JOVANOVA: Now that I have a great opportunity to get involved, I can use my strengths to impact my community and work towards more ambitious goals.
Andrej NIKOLOVSKI: What makes me buzz is constant learning, self-improvement, and most of all, making a positive impact in my community and serving as a role model for future generations.
Angela SHARENKOVA: What makes me buzz is the passion for learning new things, discovering new places, sharing ideas and connecting with others.
Isak MISSINI: Learning something new every day, striving to be a better version of myself today than I was yesterday.
Marija BURGIEVA: I’d like to make an impact on people and the environment by advocating for those who don’t have a voice.
#skillsfactory The Ultimate Photography Skills with Gjorgji Kostovski
The two-day training in photography is only the start of the #skillsfactory sessions we are going to organise throughout the 2023 European Year of Skills. Starting with the skills of the digital era, we wanted to highlight visual communication.
In today’s digital age, visual communication is a key driver of engagement on social media. So, developing the necessary skills for creating high-quality images to convey valuable concepts and information is now more important than ever, especially to the youth who communicate with their friends mainly through social networking sites.
During the two-day photography course led by the local photographer Gjorgji Kostovski, students can learn and develop basic photography skills to become professional photographers. It’s a perfect opportunity to encourage the youth to rethink social media and visual communication, get more socially engaged and become more aware of the benefits of visual communication.
Today, visual communication designers are in high demand. They are one of the most sought-after professionals in the market. It’s never too late to learn something new!
Starting the European Year of Skills with a BANG!
At the start of 2023 – the European Year of Skills – we’d like to share not one but two different programmes: Support Local Artists Weekends in Strumica and Gevgelija and Bring Your Hobby – Take a Slice of Pizza.
The Support Local Artists Weekends event in Strumica and Gevgelija encouraged DJs not only to play across a wide range of genres but also to play music on vinyl records using analogue and digital mixing techniques.
Bring Your Hobby – Take a Slice of Pizza was an event celebrating a wide range of amazing fun hobbies and learning new skills while enjoying our favourite pastime. Everyone shared their favourite hobbies, from singing and playing instruments or DJing to song-writing or practising yoga, from collecting gramophone records to concert or travel souvenirs.
It was a great way to get to know each other and engage in fascinating conversations about the various things that make us happy and inspire us daily.
Till next BUZZ!
Have a skill-full year!