On September 22, representatives of Eurothink – Center for European Strategies participated in a National Resilience Dialogue in North Macedonia organized by the Global Initiative against transnational organized crime (GI-ToC). This event brought together key representatives of the civil society sector in North Macedonia, countrywide, with the purpose of promoting collective action, cross border collaboration and to provide opportunities for experience and information sharing, lessons learnt, mutual support and assistance. This dialogue provided a space of discussion of current issues and trends, as well as enhancing the capacities of civil society organizations in the country.
Additionally, on September 23, Eurothink and GI-ToC co-organized a round table event – On the same side: “Enhancing cooperation between civil society and the government to strengthen resilience against organized crime”. The focus of this discussion was on cooperation between civil society and the government, in addition to looking at current and existing forms of collaboration. A specific focus was put on the role of the civil society, the issue of migration, migrant smuggling and their implications on resilience in North Macedonia. This event was also the first of the “Network 24” working meetings since its establishment in March 2021.
Several key speakers from the Government and the civil society discussed existing mechanisms, challenges of migration and the potential of strengthening capacities for collaboration: Dimitar Nikolovski – Executive Director of Eurothink – Center for European Strategies; Vladimir Georgiev – member of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption; Svetlana Vlahovikj – Dimanoska – Head of Sector for Negotiation and Eurointegration Department for EU and international cooperation and Deputy coordinator of the National Commission for Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration and Goce Kocevski – Program Director at the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association (MYLA).
