Integrative and modern. The Nansen Model for Intercultural Education (NMIO) was developed and implemented in North Macedonia for the first time in 2007. Its preparation took two years during the implementation of projects for dialogue and reconciliation in the areas affected by the 2001-armed conflict.

This model of education uses a modern upbringing and educational process to bring together students, parents and teachers from different ethnic communities. It supports and promotes cooperation between them while, at the same time, nurturing cultural and linguistic values. So far, the model is implemented in more than thirty primary and secondary schools in North Macedonia and the region and shows excellent outcomes.

In a large number of schools in the country, with the educational process organized in several school facilities and shifts based on ethnic and linguistic difference, this model has contributed students, who attend classes in different languages of instruction, to participate together in extracurricular activities.

This type of activity is implemented by tandems of teachers who work in the same school, but in different languages ​​of instruction, for example Macedonian and Albanian language. Outside the regular classes, they use extracurricular activities, realized in both languages of instruction, to combine their two classes into a single class. Thus, both teachers and students get to know the “other” language as it is directly and spontaneously present throughout activities. In addition to the language, students learn about the culture, tradition, values ​​and other characteristics of several ethnicities in the country.

The model connects contents of the formal curricula with the informal contents of extracurricular activities. The bilingual approach and teamwork contribute to a better upbringing and educational process and enrich the skills and abilities that students will need later in their life.

This has a positive impact on both teachers and parents who contribute to better coexistence in the Macedonian multiethnic society.