CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT QUARTERLY REPORT #12 QUARTERLY REPORT #10
Reporting period: July 1 – September 30, 2019 Reporting period: January 1 – March 31, 2019
Prepared under the USAID’s Civic Engagement Project (CEP) in North Macedonia Contract Number AID-165-C-16-00003
Submitted to: USAID/Macedonia on April 30, 2019 Contractor: East-West Management Institute, Inc.
October 30, 2019 This publication was produced by the East-West Management Institute, Inc., for review by the United States Agency for International Development.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
QUARTERLY REPORT #12
Reporting period: July 1 – September 30, 2019
Prepared under the USAID’s Civic Engagement Project (CEP) in North Macedonia Contract Number AID-165-C-16-00003
Submitted to: USAID/North Macedonia on October 30, 2019 Contractor: East-West Management Institute, Inc.
Disclaimer This document is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the East-West Management Institute, Inc., and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 3 SECTION I: INTRODUCTION 7 1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7 1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 8 1.3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT 9 SECTION II: PROJECT ACTIVITIES 11 COMPONENT ONE: STRENGHTEN CSO ALLIANCES 11 COMPONENT TWO: STRENGTHEN CSOs 13 COMPONENT THREE: STRENGTHEN YOUTH ENGAGEMENT 21 COMPONENT FOUR: STRENGTHEN YOUTH ACTIVITIES 26 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT TO CEP’S TRANSITION ORGANIZATIONS 27 SECTION III: CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES 28 3.1 PUBLIC OUTREACH 28
3.2 MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING PLAN 32 3.3 COOPERATION WITH USAID AND OTHER DONOR PROGRAMS 40
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ACA Advocacy Capacity Assessment ACP Anti-Corruption Platform, North Macedonia ADI Association for Democratic Initiatives, North Macedonia AECOM Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Management ASC USAID’s Advancing Social Cohesion Project in North Macedonia BIRN Balkan Investigative Reporting Network BPIE Best Practices and Innovation Event CAC Contemporary Arts Center, North Macedonia CAFT Coalition “All for Fair Trials”, North Macedonia CCC Association of Citizens’ Center for Civil Communications, North Macedonia CDA Capacity Development Assistance CDP Capacity Development Plan CEA Center for Economic Analysis, North Macedonia CEA Center for Education of Adults, North Macedonia CEP USAID’s Civic Engagement Project in North Macedonia CfEI Call for Expression of Interest CIVIL Center for Freedom, North Macedonia COP Chief of Party COR USAID’s Contracting Officer Representative CSO Civil Society Organization DCM Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in North Macedonia DCoP Deputy Chief of Party DOC USAID’s Development, Outreach, and Communication Office ESARM Employment Service Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia ESE Association for Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women, North Macedonia EU European Union
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EUROTHINK Center for European Strategies, North Macedonia EWMI East-West Management Institute, Inc. FAA Fixed Amount Award FACE Foundation Agro-Center for Education, North Macedonia FISCAST Fiscal Accountability, Sustainability, and Transparency, North Macedonia FORUM CSRD Association FORUM - Center for Strategic Research and Documentation, North Macedonia FOSM Foundation Open Society - Macedonia FRU Faculty of Things that Can't Be Learned, North Macedonia GAU Grant Administration Unit GDOD USAID’s General Development Office Director GEP Gender Equality Platform GM Grants Manager GRC Grants Review Committee GRECO Group of States Against Corruption GUC Grants under Contract ICRP Indirect Cost Rate Proposal ICT4D Information and Communication Technology for Development INKLUZIVA Association for the Promotion and Development of an Inclusive Society, North Macedonia IZBOR Association for Counselling, Treatment, Reintegration, and Resocialization of People Addicted to Psychoactive Substances, North Macedonia J2SR Journey to Self-Reliance KULT-TRANZEN Association for Culture and Development of Creative Industries, North Macedonia KPMG One of the Big Four auditing firms LC Learning Circle LCDF Local Community Development Foundation, North Macedonia LEAD MK Linking, Engagement, Advocacy, and Development Program under CEP
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LGU Local Governmental Unit LPA Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, USAID MCIC Macedonian Center for International Cooperation M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MELP Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan
MEPO Monitoring, Evaluation, and Public Outreach Mladiinfo Association for Education Mladiinfo International, North Macedonia MLSP Ministry of Labor and Social Policy MoC Memorandum of Cooperation MoU Memorandum of Understanding NMSI USAID’s North Macedonia Support Initiative NDI National Democratic Institute NICRA Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements NYCM National Youth Council of Macedonia OACA EWMI’s Advocacy and Organizational Capacity Assessment OCA Organizational Capacity Assessment ODRM Organizational Development Road Map OTI Office of Transition Initiatives, USAID PAB Project Advisory Board PAUM Protective Association Union of Macedonia (ZAPOVIM) PBP Participatory Budget Process PCM Project Cycle Management PG Partnership Grants Program under CEP PMU Project Management Unit PRO Public Revenue Office, North Macedonia PUBLIC Association for Research, Communications, and Development, North Macedonia PwD People with Disabilities REACTOR Research in Action Association, North Macedonia
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RfA Request for Applications RfCP Request for Concept Papers RRGs Rapid Response Grants under CEP SCCP State Commission for Corruption Prevention, North Macedonia SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SEC State Election Commission, North Macedonia SEGA Coalition of Youth Organizations SEGA, North Macedonia SEP Secretariat for European Affairs, North Macedonia SP Strategic Plan SSG Strategic Support Grants under CEP StG Standard Grant TA Technical Assistance UN United Nations UNCAC United Nations Convention Against Corruption UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID US Agency for International Development USG Government of the United States of America VETC Vocational Education and Training Center WFT Association “Women's Forum”, Tetovo YCEA Youth Civic Engagement Award under CEP YDIM Youth Development Index in North Macedonia YES Youth Engagement Support (Grants) under CEP YEI USAID’s Youth Ethnic Integration Project in North Macedonia ZELS Association of Local Self-government Units, North Macedonia
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SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
East-West Management Institute, Inc., (EWMI) is pleased to submit the twelfth quarterly report covering activities of USAID’s Civic Engagement Project (hereinafter referred to as “CEP”) during the period from July 1 – September 30, 2019. Highlights of outputs and outcomes for the reporting period include: • ACP produced the first draft of the ethics code for the members of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) and the methodology for assessment of corruption risks that will make it easier for public officials to recognize the risks of corruption and address potential issues. ● CAFT published its second policy brief on Physical Accessibility of Courts in the 10 assessed basic courts and shared it with the courts and the Ministry of Justice. ● ESE organized a close-out event for their project: “ACCELERATE SUBSTANTIAL REFORMS IN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM OF PROTECTION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE” with representatives from the basic courts, Ministry of Justice, and members of the advocacy group for advancing the system of protection and other practitioners. ESE presented their findings and recommendations for improving the criminal justice system in North Macedonia and Guidelines for judges’ civil court proceedings for issuing temporary measures of protection. ● CCC published two research studies and released two databases: the first one was the research conducted with the corresponding database of all ambulance vehicles in the country, which revealed that there are 183 ambulance vehicles, operated by 47 health institutions. Compared to ambulance vehicles, ministries and municipalities have 2,645 passenger vehicles at their disposal, meaning that there is one ambulance per every 15 passenger vehicles. The second research study and the corresponding database is related to all municipal tenders in 2018 showing that municipalities have spent 97 million euros on public procurements in 2018, which is 17 million euros, or 21% more than in 2017. ● CCC provided recommendations on key anti-corruption legislation: on the new five-year Anti-Corruption Strategy, regarding Strategy development methodology; on the Government’s Strategy for Transparency, where all CCC proposals were accepted by the working group; and on the Program for public finance management reform. ● CAC realized a local initiative, Verticals, Walls and Public Spaces, in Kriva Palanka. This initiative was a continuation of the initiative Public Art and Graffiti in Kriva Palanka. It joined artists, architects, creative practitioners, graffiti makers and local youth in an effort to create more creative public spaces in Kriva Palanka. Under this initiative, CAC worked on seven different spots in the central part of Kriva Palanka and created seven different murals/graffiti’s covering over 100m2 with hand crafted details. ● FISCAST has noted a significant impact through the project “My Money, My Responsibility” in Kavadarci, as 18.1% of the total budget of the municipality was
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allocated through participative budgeting process, almost doubling the goal that was set when FISCAST started its project in Kavadarci. ● CEP announced the Call for Applications for its 4th Linking, Engagement, Advocacy, and Development Program in North Macedonia (LEAD MK) Program and conducted info sessions in Bitola, Kumanovo, Skopje and Strumica. ● During this quarter CEP closed all 6 activities implemented by 3rd Year YCEA winners in the individual and CSO categories. ● Ten SSG grantees that were terminated in the last quarter focused on close-out activities under their respective projects.
1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
CEP is a five-year USAID-funded program that strives to achieve two objectives: (1) strengthen the constructive engagement by civil society organizations (CSOs) on policies and issues of public concern and (2) increase and sustain youth engagement in public life in North Macedonia. CEP is implemented by EWMI in partnership with three local CSOs: Foundation for Internet and Society “Metamorphosis” (Metamorphosis), the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) and the National Youth Council of Macedonia (NYCM). The overall goal of CEP is to enhance CSOs and youth’s capacity to advance public policies, improve public services, promote good governance, and contribute to improving the standard of living of people in North Macedonia. At the close of CEP, CEP-supported CSOs and CSO alliances will possess the knowledge, mechanisms, and resources to generate civic activism and lead public debate and action, and constructively engage with government counterparts and institutions to foster transparent and accountable governance at all levels of decision-making.
CEP also creates and supports a cadre of youth leaders and youth-focused organizations that will develop the skills to connect with relevant government stakeholders and participate in public policy discussions. These results will directly contribute to USAID/North Macedonia’s Development Objective (DO) under its Country Strategic Framework FY 2018 - 2020: North Macedonia is Prosperous, Self-Reliant, and Inclusive Democratic Society, and Intermediate Result 2: Enhanced Participation by Informed Citizens.
During the reporting period, CEP, together with USAID, reoriented and redesigned some of its grant support to activities that strengthen North Macedonia’s ability to undertake necessary reforms in CEP’s new focus areas – anti-corruption; rule of law and transparency. CEP also identified public institutions that will receive CEP’s technical assistance in order to ensure that North Macedonia’s institutions have the capacity and knowledge to address key challenges in their country’s path towards EU accession.
CEP’s support for initiatives in its new focus areas will center on a combination of grants and technical support for CSOs and public institutions, fostering cooperation between government and CSOs, in order to contribute to North Macedonia’s progress towards EU integration.
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To achieve its objectives, CEP will continue to implement its activities under four components.
Under Component One: Strengthen Civil Society Organization Alliances, CEP, through its Partnership Grants (PGs), supports CSO alliances that focus on the CEP focus areas of anti- corruption, rule of law and transparency. CEP supports the selected CSO alliances to: (i) become leaders in shaping and constructively engaging in issues of public concern; and (ii) enhance their capacity to engage citizens, media, government institutions, private sector and other stakeholders in advancing the public’s wellbeing in the targeted areas.
Under Component Two: Strengthen CSOs, through flexible and tailored grants, imbued with innovative approaches, CEP assists CSOs with: (i) planning and implementing long term interventions, including policy analysis, public education and civic engagement, advocacy campaigns, engaging constructively with government actors and institutions, and monitoring public policies, programs, and budgets; (ii) proactively representing citizens' concerns and initiating activities in the CEP priority areas listed in the paragraph above; and (iii) drawing increased knowledge and capacity, as well as widened support for their initiatives, by networking with regional, European, and international networks.
Under Component Three: Strengthen Youth Engagement, CEP organizes the annual yearlong LEAD MK (Linking, Engagement, Advocacy, Development – North Macedonia) program that will equip 80 highly-motivated young people with the skills, knowledge, and networks that will enable them to become leaders in advancing public interests at the community, regional, or national level. CEP pairs each LEAD MK Fellow with a mentor and ensures organizational support for their LEAD MK Projects. Every year, CEP also organizes the Youth Civic Engagement Award to promote civic engagement and recognize successful youth, CSOs, and/or groups that engage in promoting their communities’ wellbeing.
Under Component Four: Strengthen Youth Activism, through grants and capacity development assistance, CEP supports youth CSOs and non-registered youth groups that: (i) focus on educating young men and women about their rights and the opportunities for participating in public life; (ii) promote youth work with public institutions at the central and local government level on issues that affect North Macedonia’s youth or the community at large; and (iii) provide opportunities for youth to give back to communities and society, and focus on priority political, economic, cultural or social issues that might impact their lives.
1.3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
During July 2019, CEP organized the Year 4 Work Plan Retreat with the participation of all EWMI CEP staff and implementing partners’ PMU staff. USAID’s General Development Office Director, Edward Gonzalez, and USAID’s Project Management Specialist, Melita Cokrevska, joined the retreat and provided valuable feedback and suggestions on CEP’s new strategic direction and
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proposed activities for Year 4. CEP submitted its Year 4 Work Plan and obtained provisional approval from USAID on October 2, 2019. Proposed activities for Year 4, which were part of the current contract with USAID, have been approved. The proposed new activities, related to the assistance to targeted public institutions, will be approved later on, pending successful contract modification.
EWMI. During the reporting period, EWMI recruited Mr. Goran Lazarevski as the new Chief of Party for CEP, who will join the EWMI team on October 1, 2019.
NYCM. During the reporting period NYCM’s Secretary General, Ivona Krstevska and CEP’s NYCM Program Manager, Martin Milosevski, left their respective positions with NYCM. Mr. Filip Kulakov was promoted from CEP’s NYCM Program Assistant to CEP’s NYCM Program Manager, while the position of the Secretary General was filled by Ms. Gordana Kolova (former LEAD Fellow) and Mr. Igor Dimovski was recruited for the newly vacated position of the Program Assistant.
Metamorphosis. During the reporting period Ms. Marija Vasilevska left her position as CEP’s Metamorphosis Monitoring and Evaluation/Public Outreach Specialist. Metamorphosis is currently working to recruit a new staff member for this position.
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SECTION II: PROJECT ACTIVITIES
COMPONENT ONE: STRENGTHEN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION ALLIANCES
Under Component One, CEP provides grants to leading CSO alliances. The CSO alliances include registered and non-registered CSO coalitions, platforms, networks, and alliances comprised of more than five-member CSOs. Metamorphosis manages the grant-making activities under Component 1.
Activity 1.1: Grantees progress The following is a summary of the main activities that ongoing PGs carried out during the reporting period.
Name of grantee: CSOs Anti-Corruption Platform (ACP), Skopje Project name: Strengthening CSO’s Platform in the Fight Against Corruption Project duration: May 15, 2017 - May 14, 2020 Project target areas: Anti-corruption
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • On September 12, ACP organized an information event in Kavadarci aimed at promoting the activities of the Platform at the local level. More than 100 people approached ACP representatives and volunteers and discussed their concerns. • ACP organized three working meetings of the Board of the Platform. Platform Board members discussed ACP’s upcoming activities related to: cooperation with the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC); regular project activities; and marking the International Anti-Corruption Day in December. • ACP produced the first draft of the ethics code for the members of the SCPC and the methodology for assessment of corruption risks that will make it easier for public officials to recognize the risks of corruption and address potential issues no matter what public institutions they come from. At this stage, the draft version of the code and the methodology were presented at the meeting between the Platform and the SCPC.
Name of grantee: Fiscal Accountability, Sustainability and Transparency Network (FISCAST), Skopje Project name: “My Money, My Responsibility”: Participative Budgeting in the Municipalities in Macedonia Project duration: May 15, 2017 - May 14, 2020 Project target areas: Good Governance and Public Service Improvement
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • On 20 September, FISCAST organized a meeting with its partner municipalities to talk about lessons learned and past experiences from the public lectures and goals of the upcoming town-hall meetings. A total of 11 people attended the meeting, including the Mayors of Krushevo and Rosoman, as well as representatives from municipalities
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of Kriva Palanka, Kavadarci and Gjorche Petrov. During the meeting, representatives of municipalities shared their experiences in implementing practices of participatory budgeting, taught by FISCAST. • The biggest indicator of the success of the project is the Municipality of Kavadarci, where 18.1% of the total budget of the municipality was allocated through participative budgeting process, almost doubling the goal that was set when FISCAST started its project in Kavadarci. of grantee: Coalition of Civil Associations All for Fair Trails (CAFT), Skopje Project name: Legal, Financial and Physical Access to Justice in Primary Courts in Macedonia Project duration: June 01, 2018 - November 30, 2020 Project target areas: Rule of Law and Human Rights
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • CAFT trail monitors conducted 49 on-site monitoring on the implementation of domestic laws and international fair trial standards in the first-instance courts of Veles, Skopje, Shtip, Strumica, Bitola, Ohrid, Struga, Tetovo, Gostivar and Prilep. • On July 9, CAFT published its second policy brief on Physical Accessibility of Courts in the Republic of North Macedonia, indicating that all categories of people with disabilities are facing difficulties in physical access to courts which effectively restricts their right to fair trial. Data of the conducted research shows that part of the courts do not have court rooms on the ground floors and the elevators are out of function. On a more positive note, there are a few examples that show improvements i.e. the basic courts in Struga and Bitola have reconstructed the entrance and returned the elevators into function. • In an effort to push for policy change, CAFT shared the brief with the ten monitored courts as well as with the Ministry of Justice. CAFT also distributed the policy brief among CSOs working with people with disabilities and received positive feedback. • On September 10, CAFT held the first working group meeting with CSOs working with people with disabilities. The aim behind this meeting was to receive additional information to the one provided by court monitors and find additional ways to improve conditions for people with disability. The most relevant conclusions that CSOs raised concerns about were: designated persons for communicating with people with disabilities being randomly appointed persons that cannot always provide assistance. The meeting had 17 participants (5 men and 12 women).
Plans for Next Quarter In the next quarter, CEP plans the following activities:
• Continue to monitor the effectiveness of the activities of the current PG grantees; • Design new, targeted PGs with the existing PG grantees or expand their current activities, as approved in the Year 4 Work Plan.
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COMPONENT TWO: STRENGTHEN CSOS
Under Component Two, CEP provides grant support to CSOs, including think tanks that work in the following priority areas: rule of law, anti-corruption, and transparency.
Metamorphosis manages the SSGs and ADI manages the Rapid Response Grants (RRGs) under Component Two.
Activity 2.1: Grantees Progress
During this period, CEP focused on closing ten SSGs that were terminated in the previous reporting period, as per USAID’s request. The following is a summary of the main achievements of terminated grants, as well as a short summary of activities of ongoing SSGs during the reporting period.
Name of grantee: FORUM Center for Strategic Research and Documentation (CSRD), Skopje Project name: Active Citizens for Good Governance Project duration: July 3, 2017 - June 30, 2020 Project target areas: Good Governance and Human Rights
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • Organized training for active engagement and interaction with LSGs. On July 5-7, FORUM CSRD trained 23 citizens (7 men and 16 women), representatives of the municipality, youth, civil society sector, education institutions, and media from the Pelagonia region. The issues important to the citizens of the Pelagonia region identified during the training were: the air pollution in Bitola and Mogila; land deterioration because of the floods in Mogila; and unemployment. • During this quarter, FORUM CSRD sent out a call for applications for local initiatives in the Pelagonia region. FORUM CSRD selected the application for afforestation of the settlement “Bair” aiming at raising awareness about the impact of forests near urban settlements in improving long-term air quality.
Name of grantee: Association for Research, Communications, and Development – PUBLIC, Skopje Project name: Social Entrepreneurship Connecting the Dots: Economic Growth, Community Development, and Social Inclusion Project duration: August 1, 2017 - July 30, 2019 Project target areas: Economic Growth and Human Rights
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • With their partners, PUBLIC launched the first national network of social enterprises. Through signing the first national declaration on social enterprises, 20 representatives from social enterprises and 20 representatives from the traditional business sector, respective public institutions, and ministries made a commitment to the joint values
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and principles that will be followed in the process of development of the social enterprise sector. • PUBLIC successfully advocated for the development of a Strategy for Social Enterprises with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) and nominated members to join the Working Group for drafting the Strategy for Social Enterprises. • PUBLIC conducted national research on the capacities of social enterprises and their sustainability practices that informed PUBLIC’s strategic directions in the field. • Comparative analysis of five countries that have adopted a law on Social Enterprises: PUBLIC completed the draft report on the comparative analysis of the experience of United Kingdom, France, Poland, Italy and Sweden as countries with the most advanced conditions for social enterprises. • PUBLIC established an online platform by the social enterprise “Esnaf” which gathers and promotes the existing local crafts in North Macedonia. Esnaf also signed partnership agreement with hotel “Continental” in Skopje which as of August serves as the promotor of Esnaf’s products. • PUBLIC established a partnership agreement between Combi Coffee and EVN North Macedonia to reduce electricity costs for social enterprises. As part of the project activities, PUBLIC assigned mentors for social enterprises in order to strengthen their capacities and position them on the market. Combi Coffee is a social enterprise that was selected to be mentored and the agreement between Combi Coffee and EVN is a result of that mentorship paving the way toward new partnership opportunities with other social enterprises.
Name of grantee: REACTOR - Research in Action, Skopje Project name: Mobilizing for Gender Equality Project duration: July 17, 2017 - July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Human Rights
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • Gender Equality Index – REACTOR developed a first of its kind online Gender Equality Index of the municipalities in North Macedonia (www.rodovindeks.mk) and methodology for assessment of gender equality on the local level. The GEI serves as a tool to continuously evaluate the practical application of the national legislation and local practices that hinder equal opportunities. The GEI assesses all 81 municipalities in North Macedonia and provides data on a great number of indicators, enabling municipalities to identify the areas in which they need to improve in order to achieve gender equality. The GEI ranks municipalities based on their efforts to achieve gender equality and introduces healthy competition between municipalities and serves as an incentive for improvements in the medium and long term. At least 81 municipal representatives were involved in the data collection process; over 1,000 citizens engaged through the website with over 12,200 views; at least 114 local government representatives have interacted with the project (by attending events, etc.); over 27,900 citizens involved in advocacy campaign on social media through data visualizations for the GEI (9 illustrations and 1 infographic).
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• REACTOR also developed a Toolkit “How to achieve gender equality in the municipality”. Based on the findings from the assessment of the municipalities, REACTOR created a toolkit that will guide and assist municipal staff and elected officials to improve their gender mainstreaming efforts. The toolkit is a unique tool that provides practical step by step guidance for all municipalities to improve their services and policies to address the issues that most affect women. • REACTOR conducted a messaging study on shared parental leave (a total of 2,111 citizens were consulted in a representative messaging study - telephone survey on a representative national sample of 1,200 participants, online survey with 911 responses); summarized findings in an extensive report that has informed the development of the position paper on shared parental leave. • REACTOR conducted a messaging study on social infrastructure – kindergartens (a total of 1200 citizens were consulted in a representative messaging study - telephone survey on a representative national sample); summarized findings in an extensive report that has informed the development of the position paper on social infrastructure - kindergartens. • REACTOR completed the position paper on shared parental leave – “For everyone’s wellbeing – Towards a new parental leave model”, containing an overview of best models, practices and experiences, as well as recommendations for best approach and models to implement shared parental leave in our country, focusing on the introduction of mandatory months for the father, differentiating maternity, paternity and parental leave. • REACTOR completed the position paper on kindergartens in North Macedonia - The main theme of the position paper is that affordable and subsidized places in state kindergartens mean greater equality on the labor market, which in turn results in economic growth. Some of the key findings in the paper indicate that the economic inequality between women and men in the Republic of North Macedonia is still very high. The position paper will be used as an internal tool for advocacy referring to the data and findings in future advocacy efforts for improving the state of kindergartens, thus improving gender equality in the country. Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women (ESE), Skopje Name of grantee: Association for Emancipation, Solidarity, and Equality of Women (ESE), Skopje Project name: Paths to Justice for Women Victims of Domestic Violence Project duration: October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2019 Project target areas: Rule of Law, Monitoring and Oversight of Public Institutions and Human Rights
The grantee is currently finalizing the final report and will be formally closed at the beginning of the next reporting period. Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • ESE finalized the Court Monitoring Report. The Report covers 142 court cases and 392 court hearings. More than 90% of monitored cases were criminal court cases. Part of the conclusions and recommendations in the report are focused at the following problems: prolongation of the court procedures; victimization of the victims during the proceedings; and mild punishment practices toward domestic violence abusers.
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• ESE’s Legal Aid Center for victims of domestic violence provided 50 women with free legal aid and psychological counseling. • On September 25, ESE organized the final event – “Accelerate substantial reforms in criminal and civil justice system of protection against domestic violence” for the judges from the basic courts, members of the advocacy group for advancing the system of protection for the victims of domestic violence, Ministry of Justice and other practitioners. At the event, ESE presented their findings and recommendations for improving the criminal justice system and guidelines for judges’ civil court proceedings for issuing temporary measures of protection. There was a consensus among the practitioners that the recommendations will be taken into consideration and that ESE should share it among the judges as best practices.
Name of grantee: Coalition of Youth Organizations SEGA, Prilep Project name: Strengthening Youth Engagement in Local Communities Project duration: October 1, 2017 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Good Governance and Human Rights
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • SEGA completed and published the Youth Development Index Macedonia (YDIM). The index is a comprehensive measure across domains that are critical to youth development - education, health, employment, and civic and political participation. The index helps inform policy-makers about young people's needs and opportunities, indicating areas of success and where attention is most needed. The organization also organized a training of local CSOs to help them strengthen youth engagement at the local level through better positioning of youth in the communities; providing guidance for effective communication with decision makers; and guidance towards organizing public advocacy campaigns aimed at youth empowerment. SEGA also launched an interactive website/map with YDIM findings.
Name of grantee: Association for Education Mladiinfo International, Skopje Project name: Youth Banks Network Macedonia (YBNM) Project duration: October 1, 2017 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Business Enabling Environment
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • Mladiinfo managed to transform Youth Banks Network Macedonia (YBNM) from a two-year project into a vital long-lasting strategic program of Mladiinfo International (and its partners). Thus, Youth Banks have become a strategic priority, reflected in the strategic organizational documents. The future plans related to YBNM aim towards YBNM becoming a fully operational entity with governing bodies and securing quality control for a functional Youth Banks model.
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• Mladiinfo introduced the first ever all-encompassing approach towards youth employment, where the local government plays a significant role, thus, creating a youth-centered ecosystem based on cross-sectoral cooperation between the local authorities, youth, CSOs and the business community. • Mladiinfo developed strong partners’ connection within the network which now has 13 members, 3 more than originally anticipated. The project enabled strong links between the members of the network, resulting in a common approach towards different youth sector issues. YBNM members have also enhanced their cooperation with the local governments and have helped them boost their capacities in working with youth.
Name of grantee: Association of Citizens “Center for Civil Communications” (CCC), Skopje Project name: Public Spending for Public Good Project duration: April 1, 2018 - December 31, 2020 Project target areas: Good Governance and Transparency
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • CCC published two researches and databases. The first research with a corresponding database is related to all ambulance vehicles in the country, which revealed that there are 183 ambulances in the country, operated by 47 health institutions. The average age of these vehicles is 11 years and as many as 53% have been donated or used by another health institution. Compared to ambulance vehicles, ministries and municipalities have 2,645 passenger vehicles at their disposal, meaning that there is one ambulance on every 15 passenger vehicles. 55 media reports were published as a result of CCC’s research. The second research along with a corresponding database is related to all municipal public procurements in 2018: municipalities have spent 97 million euros on public procurements in 2018, which is 17 million euros, or 21% more than in 2017. In 2018, there was a high concentration of small number of companies wining municipal procurements. Thus, the top ten companies with the highest value of public procurement contracts together, account for 22% of the total value of municipal procurements. 56 media reports were published as a result of CCC’s research. • CCC provided assistance to six journalists on investigating potential misuse of public funds from the following media outlets: Radio Slobodna Evropa, Nezavisen vesnik, Fokus, Makfax, 360 Degrees and Prizma.mk. • CCC provided recommendations regarding key anti-corruption legislation in the reporting period: on the new five-year Anti-Corruption Strategy, regarding Strategy development methodology; on the Government’s Strategy for Transparency, where all CCC proposals were accepted by the working group; and on the program for public finance management reform. • During the reporting period, CCC reported 5,576 page views on opendata.mk, 3,594 sessions and 3,258 users. The two published researches and databases posts on CCC’s and Opendata’s Facebook pages reached 2,787 people with 287 engagements (not sponsored). There were 316 downloads of the Index of Active Transparency publication (210 only in this quarter), while the biannual Monitoring Report on Public Spending was downloaded 499 times (285 in this quarter only).
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Name of grantee: Foundation Agro-Centre for Education (FACE), Skopje Project name: AgroInclusia Project duration: March 1, 2018 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Local Economic Development
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • FACE established a Project Advisory Board (PAB) with members from the Employment Agency of Republic of North Macedonia, Vocational Education Centre, Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, Center for Vocational Education and FACE. The PAB provided great support in the implementation of the project activities and should be used as a model for project Advisory Bodies. • Completed a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) and identified 20 open vacancies for people with disabilities (PwD) in agricultural companies. FACE developed a comprehensive training program with PwDs and their potential employers on social inclusion, technical and technological skills in agriculture, business skills, and mentorship skills for companies. • In close cooperation with the Employment Agency, FACE and its PAB, prepared an initiative for changing the rulebook for pre-employment training for people with disabilities. Amendments and modifications of the rulebook will ensure assessing the needs and additional training for people with disabilities prior to their employment. This way, the project not only impacted the work of the institutions but also secured a more successful integration of people with disabilities. y Can’t Be Learned (FRU), Bitola Name of grantee: Faculty of Things that Can’t be Learned - FRU, Bitola Project name: Active Community Spaces for Citizen Changes Project duration: March 1, 2018 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Community Development and Civic Engagement
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • FRU successfully advocated for the adoption of their recommendations related to the status of the freelance artists and cultural workers with the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture has accepted FRU’s recommendations regarding the legal definition of artists, adding curators and many other cultural workers to the list. • Following the performance that FRU organized called “If Buildings Could Talk” to raise awareness of the state of the historical, significant Railway Building in Skopje, the Major of Skopje agreed to the establishment of a working group that will work on the preservation and reconstruction of the cinema in the Railway Building.
Name of grantee: Association for Counselling, Treatment, Reintegration, and Resocialization of People Addicted to Psychoactive Substances - IZBOR, Strumica Project name: Innovative Social Reforms for Employment of Marginalized Groups Project duration: March 1, 2018 – July 20, 2019
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Project target areas: Civic Engagement and Community Involvement
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • IZBOR developed five Working Plans (WPs) for CSOs that are providing employment assistance and opportunities for former substance users and 18 individual employment plans for former substance users. • IZBOR secured full time employments for five former substance users and three volunteer employments with potential of full-time employment. • IZBOR developed a system of continuous support for the employment of marginalized groups – former substance users through developing a “Guide for the occupational therapy for social inclusion of marginalized persons”. • IZBOR developed the comparative analysis “Treatment and social (re) integration: What should we learn about resocialization and employment of former drug abusers in Macedonia?”. Some of the suggestions presented in the analysis are: decentralize social services through a developed system of private service-providers; strengthen the role of self-help groups and existing mechanisms for encouraging the employment of marginalized persons. IZBOR will use the conclusions of the analysis to advocate for the decentralization and multilateral provision of social services to marginalized groups with the respective Parliamentary Commission.
Name of grantee: Local Community Development Foundation (LCDF), Shtip Project name: Effective Mechanisms for Civic Participation Project duration: March 1, 2018 - February 28, 2021 Project target areas: Good Governance and Community Development
Key activities completed during the reporting period include: • LCDF held meetings with local monitors of Municipal Councils and Advisory Bodies (ABs) to prepare them for the upcoming monitoring reports (Municipal Council and ABs for Zrnovci and Vinica were assessed on July 8; while Municipal Councils and ABs of Shtip and Kochani were assessed on July 10). LCDF provided assistance to monitors in obtaining LGU documents and data for the monitoring report. • On July 23, LCDF held a meeting with members of Advisory Body for urban issues in LGU in Shtip. The AB discussed citizen initiatives that were submitted by the citizens to municipal council as well as potential topics for new initiatives. • Monitoring of Municipal Council of Zrnovci and Advisory Body in Zrnovci. According to the independent monitoring of ABs, two citizen initiatives from AB Zrnovci were delivered, reviewed at Municipal Council session and adopted for further processing. Main finding from the monitoring of AB Zrnovci was that two proposed initiatives were adopted without a specific timeframe although the LGU did commit funding for their implementation (15,000 MKD per initiative). • During August 2019, LCDF started preparatory activities for establishing Advisory Bodies in the Municipalities of Karbinci and Makedonska Kamenica. At the initial meetings there was direct involvement from the Mayors, representatives of the municipalities and representatives of CSOs in order to jointly determine next steps for formation of the Advisory Bodies.
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Name of grantee: Association “Women’s Forum Tetovo” (WFT), Tetovo Project name: Improving Citizen Voices, especially Woman Voice, in Local Decision-Making Project duration: February 20, 2018 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Good Governance
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • The formation of the Equal Opportunity Working Group in Tetovo. Through this working group, and regular meetings between representatives of both urban and rural communities, activists, and local CSOs, WFT created a long-lasting bridge that will work to resolve burning issues and challenges in the Tetovo region. • WFT managed to bridge the gap between the two groups. One of the major problems in the Municipality of Tetovo was addressed - the lack of communication and cooperation between urban and rural local communities.
Name of grantee: Environmental Association “Vila Zora”, Veles Project name: Let’s Save the Soil from Pollution Project duration: July 1, 2018 – July 15, 2019 Project target areas: Environment
This grant was terminated during the reporting period. In the reporting period, the grantee focused on finalizing ongoing activities and reports. The most notable successes of the project are the following: • Data used to measure the process of decontamination of the soil from heavy metals showed a positive trend (reduction of the presence of heavy metals); however, it was not possible to determine the trend of reduction of soil decontamination due to the early closure of the project. • Vila Zora educated over 400 farmers from Tetovo, Veles, Skopje and Kavadarci about decontamination of the polluted soil using the oilseed rape. This raised awareness among the farmers about the actual phytoremediation as a way to decontaminate the soil but also about the impact that polluted soil has on the life of their families, citizens and future generations.
Name of grantee: Contemporary Art Center Skopje Project name: Creative Communities Project duration: March 1, 2018 – August 15, 2019 Project target areas: Good governance, Community Development - Civic Engagement Community Involvement
This grant was selected for closure with a slightly later date than other terminated grants due to a number of already planned local initiatives. Therefore, in the reporting period the grantee focused on delivering the following key activities: • CAC implemented the local initiative Verticals, Walls and Public Spaces in Kriva Palanka: This initiative was a continuation of the initiative Public Art and Graffiti’s in
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Kriva Palanka. It joined artists, architects, creative practitioners, graffiti makers and local youth, in order to create more creative public spaces in Kriva Palanka. In the framework of this initiative, CAC worked on seven different spots in the central part of Kriva Palanka and created seven different murals/graffiti covering over 100m2 with hand crafted details.
Activity 2.2: Award Rapid Response Grants
No Rapid Response Grants were awarded during the reporting period. However, CEP completed the closeout process for the grantee Macedonian Mountain Sport Federation (FPSM) under the 8th round of Rapid Response Grants.
COMPONENT THREE: STRENGTHEN YOUTH ENGAGEMENT
Under Component Three, CEP, through local partner NYCM, implements a yearlong LEAD MK Program, which represents an innovative approach to supporting North Macedonia’s next generation of leaders as they become active and engaged citizens working on the issues they care about deeply. Under this component, NYCM also administers the Youth Civic Engagement Award (YCEA) to recognize the work of young women and men (ages 18 - 29) and informal youth groups whose activities demonstrate exemplary youth civic engagement.
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Activity 3.1: Develop a Cohort of Youth Leaders
a. Award Fellowships Fellowships for the fourth generation of LEAD MK Fellows will be awarded in the next quarter.
b. Select the fourth generation of LEAD MK Fellows
Within the reporting period, CEP took the initial steps Info session in Strumica for selecting the fourth generation of LEAD MK Fellows.
On September 10, CEP issued its fourth Call for Applications (CfA # CEP-LEAD MK-04) for young men and women (aged 18-25) that would like to participate in the LEAD MK Fellowship Program. The CfA will remain open until October 4. The CfA was distributed through CEP implementing partners and all relevant stakeholders, including all municipalities. CEP Info session in Skopje conducted four info sessions on the CfA in Strumica, Bitola, Skopje and Kumanovo. 53 young people (19 men, 30 women and 4 no response) participated in the info sessions. The info sessions took place as follows: September 23 in Strumica (with support from LEAD MK Alumni Ana Klesova); September 25 in Skopje (with support from LEAD MK Alumni: Angela Nikoloska,
Gordana Kolova, Jetmir Asani and Sashka Stefanovska); Info session in Bitola September 26 in Bitola (with support from LEAD MK Alumni Veronika Stojanovska and Angela Cvetanoska) and on September 27 in Kumanovo (with support from LEAD MK alumni Alberie Xhemaili and Elena Trpkovska).
CEP will select up to 22 young men and women to participate in CEP’s 4th LEAD MK Program. A panel comprised of CEP representatives will carefully review all applications, interview the strongest applicants, and Info session in Kumanovo determine the final pool of selected LEAD MK Fellows.
c. Ongoing support to LEAD Fellows On a regular basis, CEP provides LEAD MK Fellows with information about CEP-supported networking activities.
d. Develop and Implement LEAD projects During the reporting period, the third generation of LEAD MK Fellows carried out four activities as part of their CEP-supported LEAD MK small-scale projects. The activities took place in two cities and two statistical regions of the country. The activities engaged 96 young
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people (58 women and 38 men). The third generation of LEAD MK Fellows completed their small-scale LEAD MK Projects on August 5th and received their closeout letters.
Because of the skills and knowledge obtained through the LEAD MK Program, the third generation of LEAD MK Fellows, succeeded in mobilizing and establishing partnerships with local communities, resulting in support of their initiatives by the local municipalities, businesses, and CSOs. For the most part, LEAD MK Fellows managed to ensure free venues, workshop materials, guest speakers and lecturers, which increased the quality and outreach of their initiatives.
The following is a summary of the activities that the third generation of LEAD MK Fellows implemented during the reporting period: Project: "Carebridge", implemented by Angela Jonchikj. On July 31, Angela organized a panel discussion titled: “Lives of children without parents and parental care in institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia” in Bitola. 44 young people (17 men and 27 women) participated in the event. At the panel discussion, Angela Joncikj presented findings from her research on young people perceptions about the life of children without parents and parental care while a pedagogue,
psychologist, social worker and a special educator from the Center for Social Work in Panel Discussion
Bitola delivered remarks on the subject.
Project: "Heartfelt Art", implemented by Marija Aloa Vera Drzmanoska. Marija works towards educating youth and the public about the challenges that young people with rare and inherited health disorders face. On July 25 and 28, Marija Aloa Vera Drzmanoska organized her sixth and seventh workshops, respectively, in Skopje where 21 young people (10 men and 11 women) participated. The workshop aimed to familiarize the attendees with blood disorders and at the end,
participants were involved in an art workshop. Marija Aloa Vera after the workshop
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Project "Everyone is Different - Love Each Other", implemented by Veronika Stojanovska. Veronika Stojanovska engages school students in order to identify and prevent youth violence towards people with disabilities. On July 16, Veronika organized an event to project educational video “Peer-to-peer violence", as the last event under her activity. 31 participants (11 men and 20 women) attended the event. e. Conduct LEAD MK Academy Veronika Stojanovska with one of the project participants During the reporting period, CEP began planning and preparations for the fourth LEAD MK Academy scheduled to take place during October 30 - November 6. CEP will again engage three exceptional local trainers, Ms. Irina Janevska, Mr. Antonio Jovanovski, and Mr. Bujar Saiti, to assist NYCM to develop the 4th LEAD MK Academy program based on the experience and feedback from previous three highly successful LEAD MK Academies. Activity 3.2: Youth Civic Engagement Award (YCEA) Within the reporting period, CEP signed in-kind grant agreements with Year 3 YCEA winners under the individual category: Blazhe Josifovski, Tijana Spasovska and Viktor Gilev. During the reporting period, CEP also signed in-kind grant agreements with YCEA winners in the Youth CSO Category, the Dyslexia Association Einstein, Association MELEEM, and Association Youth Can. Their activities engaged 898 young people (465 women, 433 men) during the reporting period. The following is a summary of the activities that the Year 3 YCEA Winners implemented:
Year 3 YCEA Winner Blazhe Josifovski Within the reporting period, Blazhe Josifovski, organized a one-day fundraising event, a peach festival, to bring the attention of the general public and relevant institutions to the local products and prevent wasting of consumable and healthy food. His event aimed to promote and market the usage of peach surplus, thus
increase its competitiveness amidst the “great peach crisis” that has affected the whole Peach Fest
Rosoman region. The event received support from the private sector, including the Marriot Hotel, Public Room, Squeeze Me, Umbrella, Vitaminka, and the High School for Rehabilitation and Education “St. Naum Ohridski” in Skopje, and also received extensive media coverage.
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Blazhe Josifovski, together with Trajan Dimkovski, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry & Water Economy, addressed the visitors of the event. The event engaged roughly around 800 visitors, as reported by media. Year 3 YCEA Winner Tijana Spasovska Tijana Spasovska organized three workshops: creating artistic character designs on August 29; theatre and creative writing on August 30, and ballet workshop on August 31 as part of her “Art for Development” YCEA project. The aim of these events was to educate youth workers age 18-34 with art methods and techniques on how to work with people with untypical development, especially children with Down syndrome. 22 young people (4 men and 18 women)
participated in these events. Tijana Spasovska’s ballet workshop
Year 3 YCEA Winner Viktor Gilev Viktor Gilev organized outdoor workshop in Mala Reka (near Skopje) for young people aged 15-24 and encouraged them to explore and understand how activities in nature can be used as tools for intercultural learning, social networking and empowerment of youth leadership skills. Through Viktor’s project, the participates were equipped with skills and knowledge about intercultural dialogue while spending time in nature and utilizing nature’s available resources. 29 young people (14 men and 15 women) participated in the workshop. Year 3 YCEA Winner Dyslexia Association Einstein Dyslexia Association Einstein developed an online education platform for teachers and parents in the Republic of North Macedonia covering the topic of dyslexia as a specific and widely present learning difficulty. They created the first web platform that offers online courses for dyslexia, with support from an expert for specific learning difficulties. The platform is Dyslexia Open Academy web platform available on the following link: https://disleksija.org.mk/akademija/
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Year 3 YCEA Winner Association MELEEM Association MELEEM works to improve the quality of the dormitory “Goce Delchev” in Skopje through organizing public events where young people share their skills and creativity, engage with other peers and increase the involvement of youth in similar activities, organized by and for the youth. On September 21, MELEEM organized a one-day event in the dormitory, where 26 (6 men and 20 women) young people shared their ideas on how to “The Dormitory is Ours 2” event on Sept 21 improve the Dormitory.
Year 3 YCEA Winner Association Youth Can Following the highly successful first, second and third editions of the activity “Youth Leadership Initiatives” (2015, 2016 and 2018), the Association Youth Can organized “Youth Leadership Initiatives vol. 4”, a 7-day leadership camp for 21 young people, aimed to train, empower and motivate them to plan and
implement leadership initiatives in their own communities. 21 young people (9 men and 12 Participants at YCEA Winner Association Youth
women), participated in the camp. After the Can’s Youth Leadership Camp
camp, the participants will implement three follow-up initiatives with the support of assigned mentors.
Plans for Next Quarter - Review applications, interview and select participants for Year 4 LEAD MK Fellows; - Sign acceptance letters with selected Year 4 LEAD MK Fellows; - Coordinate sessions and finalize the program for the fourth LEAD MK Academy together with LEAD MK Academy trainers; - Complete preparations and carry out the fourth LEAD MK Academy; - Select and assign mentors for the fourth generation of LEAD MK Fellows; - Review final reports and issue closeout letters to 3rd round YCEA winners.
COMPONENT FOUR: STRENGTHEN YOUTH ACTIVITIES
Under Component Four: Strengthen Youth Activism, through grants and CDA, CEP supports registered and informal youth groups to provide opportunities for young men and women to participate in public life and decision-making processes concerning their lives, their communities, and the Macedonian society in general.
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There were no activities under this component during the reporting period.
Activity 4.1: Award Youth Engagement Support Grants
a. Issue the Request for Concept Papers for YES Grants
As instructed by USAID Mission, no new Youth Engagement Support Grants are to be awarded under CEP.
b. Idea Competition Event
Please see 4.1 (a) above for more details.
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT TO CEP’S TRANSITION ORGANIZATIONS
For the duration of CEP, EWMI will assist CEP’s Transition Organization (TO), Metamorphosis, to improve their governance and management practices so that they become eligible and capable to directly manage USAID contracts.
a. Develop Organizational Development Road Maps (ODRM)
This activity has been completed in the previous quarters.
b. Provide Capacity Development Assistance to Transition Organizations
As reported in the previous reporting period Metamorphosis, ADI and FOSM held several meetings addressing the NICRA process with EWMI’s Director for Internal Audit of International Operations and EWMI’s Director of Operations and Compliance.
c. Launch work for developing the Indirect Cost Rate Proposal
In preparation for the NICRA application, Metamorphosis Foundation had been revisiting their internal policies and procedures and updating their respective documents: Procurement Policy and Procedures; Office Policy; Financial Processes and Procedures; Financial Management Manual; as well as the Travel Policy and Procedures.
However, due to the USAID pivot away from capacity building and grant-making, as well as indications that USAID’s long-term funding strategy for North Macedonia assumes that local institutions like Metamorphosis will be “self-reliant,” EWMI will revisit the requirement that Metamorphosis continue to adapt its systems so that it can obtain a NICRA. If USAID is not looking to identify local implementing partners who can manage USAID funds and sub-grants, then there is no reason for Metamorphosis to continue to pursue a NICRA. This will be the subject of contract modification between EWMI and USAID in the next reporting period.
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SECTION III: CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES
3.1 PUBLIC OUTREACH
• Newsletter During the reporting period, CEP submitted its fifth issue of the e-Newsletter to USAID for review. Once reviewed by USAID, CEP finalized the e-Newsletter and disseminated it to CEP target audiences. The announcement about the e-Newsletter was shared via email with CEP grantees, CEP Advisory Board, other donor representatives, and USAID funded projects. CEP's e-Newsletter was disseminated in compliance with the requirements of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into effect on May 25, 2018. The newsletter is available on CEP’s website at https://cep.mk/wp- content/uploads/2019/09/CEP_NEWSLETTER_-5th- Issue_Jan-June-2019.pdf Fifth issue of the e-Newsletter
• Public outreach materials
YCEA Video. During the quarter, CEP finalized the three-minute video from the third Youth Civic Engagement Award ceremony. During the reporting period, the video was shared with USAID and with the USAID Acting Country Representative, Gretchen Birkle and then shared on CEP’s and partners’ Facebook pages. The video had 762 views since its launch on July 24 and Snapshot from the YCEA Video is available on CEP’s website at https://cep.mk/multimedia/.
• CEP Story Map
During the reporting period, Story Map was finalized based on CEP’s COR feedback and then embedded on CEP’s FB and website pages. The story includes a section for each grantee containing the following information: 1) General information (photo/location/name of
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grantee/contact person/address/Web&FB); 2) Short description of CEP-supported project and 3) Expected Impact of the project. The interactive map features the results of CEP’s partnership with 68 local civil society organizations and CSO networks that engaged citizens and institutions in activities across the country dealing with issues such as good governance, anti- corruption, rule of law, election support, public CEP’s Story Map Intro Page service improvement,
gender equality, economic development, and youth empowerment.
The map was shared with all CEP’s grantees, CEP partners and USAID. The Map will be updated on a regular basis to feature the latest developments of CEP’s grantees. Here is the link to the interactive map: https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/14a3ab5dd5cf608596120bf6ae3288f9/test/inde x.html?fbclid=IwAR0k8VT7bALrI0a8yPn4MOoQO0Go6DCYCMj7c4Rv_NFALwCZSf38KHFdln0
In the next quarter, CEP will start developing an interactive map for the previous three LEAD MK generations.
• Success Stories - mCommunity mobile application During the reporting period, CEP’s former YES grantee Blink 42-21, with its mobile application project (mCommunity), competed for the European Youth Award (EYA is a unique European-wide movement of young innovators who never stop learning; questioning and improving мЗаедница won the EYA Award for Active Citizenship for 2019! the world we live in) with 45 digital projects from 29 different countries. мЗаедница (mCommunity), won the European Youth Award 2019 for Active Citizenship. The mobile app redefines digital civic participation by introducing the innovative “online whenever wherever” mobile principle to local community decision-making.
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- My Voice mobile application
CEP’s former YES grantee Association LEAD - Leaders for Education, Activism and Development, secured funding from the US Embassy in Skopje for the next 12 months to introduce the online platform “My voice/Мој глас” to all high schools on the territory of the City of Skopje. This means that all high school students from Skopje will have a chance to be involved in the decision-making processes within their schools, which leads to increased youth participation and engagement. Additionally, LEAD is in the process of assessing the interest by the other high schools from other cities, to introduce the platform "My Voice" within their school system. Quote by the LEAD team: “We aim for My Voice to become an institutional mechanism for student's participation, recognized by the students, high-schools and the general public. CEP’s and LEAD’s cooperation on creating a platform for one high-school in Skopje, that will be replicated in all other high-schools in the City of Skopje, is an example of what can be done by joining forces and hard, dedicated work. Announcement by LEAD on their FB page “My Voice” follow up activities • Media Coverage
Аs reported in the previous quarter, CEP continued to gain significant media coverage. As reported in the USAID Media Analysis for July, CEP activities were cited in 149 media articles, all of which were positive. The only project with more media coverage in July was the 360 Media Program with 296 articles published. During the entire quarter, 321 media articles covered CEP supported events, as well as the activities of CEP grantees. The following activities and Number of USAID news articles by projects, July 2019 events generated the most media attention:
CCC’s Press Release on the results from their research on ambulance vehicles in the country generated 60 articles, including the following: - https://makpress.mk/Home/PostDetails?PostId=296462
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- https://telma.com.mk/ambulantnite-vozila-stari-i- po-31-godina-protivpozharnite-po-55/
- https://kanal5.com.mk/articles/381476/vo- makedonija-ima-183-ambulantni-vozila-najstaroto- pominalo-1-35-milioni-kilometri
CCC‘s Analysis of all municipal public procurements for 2018, generated 55 articles, including the following: Article on CCC’s PR published on - https://www.brif.mk/opshtinite-lani-sprovele-javni- online media nabavki-vo-vrednost-od-97-milioni-evra/
- https://360stepeni.mk/opshtinski-tenderi-za-2018-grad- skopje-troshi-kolku-46-opshtini-zaedno/
- https://kanal5.com.mk/articles/390834/opshtinite-lani- sprovele-javni-nabavki-vo-vrednost-od-97-milioni-evra
YCEA Winner, Blaze Josifovski and his “Peach Fest” activity German Filkov from CCC generated 89 articles, including the following: interviewed by SITEL TV about the database of all municipal tenders
- https://skopjeinfo.mk/vo-gradski-park-utre-kje-se- odrzhi-humanitarna-praskijada-2019 - https://mia.mk/2019/08/praski-ada-2019/ - https://telma.com.mk/parite-od-praskijadata-vo- gradskiot-park-ke-se-koristat-za-distrubutsija-na-
hrana-do-sotsijalno-zagrozenite-gragani/ Blaze Josifovski media statement for TELMA TV on “Peach Fest” organized in the City Park in Skopje • Branding and Marking Plan
CEP staff monitored and ensured that: (i) all training and other public activities organized by CEP and its grantees complied with CEP’s Branding and Marking Plan; and (ii) grantees used appropriate CEP’s templates, as well as CEP’s promotional items (folders, notebooks, pens, and bags) in all CEP-funded activities.
• Project’s FB page and web site During the reporting period, CEP shared information about its activities and accomplishments through its Facebook and website page, as well as through its local partners’ social media channels. During this quarter, CEP’s website had 668 page views, CEP’s Facebook page had
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2,484 likes, and CEP’s Facebook posts reached 64,196 users. CEP does not use ads and/or promote its Facebook page through paid services. All page reaches and likes are organic.
3.2 MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING PLAN
• Evaluation of Project Events
During the reporting period, CEP’s MEPO Specialist analyzed data collected from completed activities (through Demographic Data Sheets and Evaluation Forms), provided a summary of findings from each event, and shared them with NYCM.
• Grantees Orientation Sessions
During the reporting period, CEP organized orientation sessions for six YCEA winners/grantees. MEPO and NYCM representatives introduced the winners to CEP’s financial and narrative reporting requirements; CEP’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (MELP), as well as CEP branding and marking requirements.
• Data collection
During the reporting period, CEP’s MEPO Specialist, in coordination with NYCM staff, customized the M&E spreadsheets for each of the YCEA winners implementing the in-kind grants, which were then trained how to use them for project implementation and reporting.
• MELP
During the reporting period, CEP focused on closing the ten SSGs, and supporting them in finalizing their activities and completing their final narrative reports, including their M&E plans.
In the next quarter, once the contract modification is completed, CEP will work on a new MELP with a new set of indicators to be submitted to USAID for approval.
3.3 COOPERATION WITH USAID AND OTHER DONOR PROGRAMS
During the reporting period, CEP stayed abreast of developments on donor-supported programs, for CSOs and civic engagement in Macedonia, as well as on the North Macedonia’s government efforts to cooperate with CSOs, including CEP grantees, in advancing reforms in three areas: rule of law, anti-corruption and transparency. In addition, CEP held numerous consultations with all international organizations represented in North Macedonia (USAID, USAID/OTI, EU, SDC, OSCE, Council of Europe, UNDP, NDI, IRI), in order to pivot and re-design its activities for the next two years.
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● nnex 2. CEP Success Story QR#9
U.S.U.S. AgencyAgency for InternationalInternational Development Development NorthMacedonia Macedonia Samoilova, 21 1000 Skopje, NorthNorth MacedoniaMacedonia Tel:Tel: (+389 2)2) 310310--20002000 www.usaid.gov/northwww.usaid.gov/north-macedonia
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