About fourty participants from 8 countries, including five students from the “Gostivar” secondary technical school from Gostivar as representatives of Volunteers Centre Skopje participated in the training for the project: “A Hug for all” which was held in Athens in the period from November 17 to December 1 of this year.

The main objectives of the training was to learn about the methods of approach and develop empathy towards refugees who are being challenged, not only in their countries where they are persecuted, but even after they escape abroad, especially in Europe. The participants had the opportunity to learn more about the topic, see things they sometimes did not even know and take part in a series of workshops and activities suitable for them to know how to deal with similar situations. The trainings offered theoretical knowledge from the social and legal basis (terminology) as workshops, simulations, drama, brainstorming methods, team building activities and other non-formal education methods. All educational material used, derived from authorized and official international institutes such as the United Nations, Amnesty International and other approved manuals and tools of the European Union.

With Volunteers Centre Skopje, the partners of the project were Educational Organization SHARP MINDS from Greece as a organizator, MAEK APS from Italy, Aktif Genchlik and Sport Club Dernegi from Turkey, Society for Territorial Progress – ČEKOR from Slovakia, European Youth Center Bretlav from the Czech Republic, Union of Bulgarian Mathematicians – UBM from Bulgaria and European Institute for Social Impact – ESI from Romania.

In March, this year, also five students from the same high school from Gostivar participated in the training for the project: “Education for human rights” which was held in the capital of Greece. In fact, these two trainings were linked, considering that the host organization had to implement it within the first year of accreditation in the youth sector. In this training, the participants had the chance to gain a vast theoretical basis for human rights education and experienced a series of workshops, simulations, team building activities, drama sessions, brainstorming and discussions.