This year, the Nansen Dialogue Centre Skopje (NDC) celebrates two decades of work and commitment to the development of intercultural education in North Macedonia, having students, parents, teachers and institutions as its partners in that process.

All these years NDC is guided by its vision – a society in which everyone has equal access to quality education based on interculturalism, interethnic integration and cohesion.

For 20 years, NDC has been accomplishing its mission – support and contribution to the development of education through the development of upbringing and educational institutions, policies and practices, as well as the promotion of dialogue in conflict prevention, through reconciliation and peace building in society.

Established in 2000, the NDC has played a crucial role in restoring trust between ethnic communities in the 2001 conflict-affected areas, so today we can talk about the finesses needed for North Macedonia to become one society for all.

In achieving the goals, it is important that the NDC started exactly from those who are to build a common future – the youth in primary education. Thanks to its unobtrusive approach, children from different ethnic communities are provided with an environment in which over the years they have acknowledged that language, culture, tradition, values, beliefs, etc. are components of unity, not division.

In the following period, we will present you fifteen stories about the key events and processes we grew up with, and here is just a short announcement to follow us curiously:

In the period 2000 to 2004, NDC was more focused on cooperating with countries in the region through seminars and forums with journalists, young leaders and young politicians. In 2003, it held the School for Young Politicians in Ohrid. The programme entitled “Dialogue and Reconciliation” started in 2005 in the Municipality of Jegunovce, characterized by growing ethnic division after the armed conflict in 2001. The NDC activity was strongly supported by the local residents, which resulted in the first integrated bilingual schools in the country, established in the village of Preljubishte in 2008 and 2010.

NDC has introduced the Nansen Model for Intercultural Education in North Macedonia, which is applied in more than 30 primary and secondary schools. The Organization has also prepared many strategic documents, including the Concept for Intercultural Education, many didactic manuals, qualitative researches, two-way Macedonian-Albanian and Albanian-Macedonian Phrase Book and Dictionary, etc.

In 2011, NDC received the prestigious Max van der Stoel Award from the OSCE for promoting integrated education and improving co-operation between ethnic communities.

This is just one stage of the development path of NDC Skopje. Let us grow together for many more years!