On 7 May 2026, a meeting was held at the Resource Centre in Gostivar between representatives of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society and local organisations from the Polog region.
During the meeting, the Council presented its work to date, while organisations had the opportunity to share the challenges they face in their operations. Nikica Kustinikova from the association Konekt and chairperson of the Council informed participants about the establishment and role of the Council, which has been operating since March 2018 and began its third mandate last year. She emphasized that the Council, as an advisory body to the Government for improving cooperation, dialogue, and promoting the development of civil society, works in accordance with its adopted Work Programme for 2025–2026.
Valentina Velichkovska, a member of the Council for civil society development, informed participants about the work of various working groups established within the Council, including the working group on transforming the Code of Good Practices for State Funding of Associations and Foundations into a binding legal act, as well as the working group on cooperation with organisations operating at the local level. She noted that at the most recent meeting, the working group on cooperation with local organisations initiated the idea of establishing regional cooperation councils between municipalities and civil society organisations for each planning region, and asked for participants’ opinions. The idea was met with strong interest, with participants highlighting that such a regional council could contribute to better structuring of the civic space, establishing good practices of transparency in allocating funds to civil society organisations, and increasing citizen participation in decision-making processes. Lulzim Haziri, Executive Director of Association for Democratic Initiatives ADI Gostivar, supported the idea of forming a regional council and proposed concrete activities to initiate its implementation.
Sebaete Zenku from the Centre for Women's Rights “ETHIKA” addressed the work of social service providers, particularly the regional Shelter centre for women victims of domestic violence. She highlighted the problem of irregular payments for this purpose by municipalities in the Polog region and the relevant Ministry, which seriously threatens the continuity and sustainability of such social services.
The meeting was also attended by a representative from the Local Self-Government Unit of the Municipality of Gostivar, who emphasized the municipality’s openness to cooperation with civil society organisations as well as the way organisations are funded by the municipality. Through the regional ReLOaD project, the Municipality of Gostivar had implemented the LOD methodology while it was included in the project, but this methodology is no longer applied for the allocation of financial support to local organisations. Organisations stated that most municipal funds are allocated to financing two sports clubs active in the Gostivar area.
Participants also raised the issue of the Rusino landfill and the sustainability of the public waste management company. However, one of the main challenges highlighted was the weak cooperation between municipalities in the Polog region.
A shared need was emphasized for greater cooperation, solidarity, and joint action among organisations in order to more effectively advocate for the needs of citizens in Polog.
The event was organised within the project “EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2,” funded by the European Union and implemented by Civic Resource Centre Foundation, Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation, Association for Democratic Initiatives ADI Gostivar and Media Plus Shtip.
