While North Macedonia is a multicultural country where different ethnic communities live together, it is not perfect, and sometimes, just like anywhere else, citizens face discrimination and prejudice that infringe on their rights. Luckily, there are laws and mechanisms meant to protect the rights of minority communities. However, in practice, many citizens do not always know what their rights are or what they can do when they face a problem.
For example, can a citizen use their native language when communicating with a public institution, even if it’s not Macedonian? What can someone do if they’ve been discriminated against? Where should they go if they think their rights are not being respected? Which institution is responsible?
These can seem like simple questions, but finding a clear answer is not always easy.
There is a lot of information available online, including laws, international documents and information from institutions. However, this information is often scattered across different places or written in legal language that can be difficult for an ordinary citizen to understand.
This is one of the issues that the North Macedonian NGO Common Values wants to address through our project, “Community Rights in Practice – Digital Platform for Inclusive Civic Participation in North Macedonia.”
Making information about rights easier to understand
Common Values already has a website and online platform where we share information from our previous projects and practical instructions about different online services.
Through the Digital Spark grant program, we created the “Navigator for the Rights of Ethnic Communities.” Before this project, we did not have a specific section with structured information about topics such as language rights and other rights specifically relevant to ethnic communities.
The idea is simple: We want to make information about rights easier to find and understand.
We don’t want citizens only to find a list of laws and documents. We want them to understand what these rights mean in everyday life, which institution is responsible and where they can turn if they need more information or support.
For example, if someone has a question about language rights, the Navigator should help them understand the basic information about this right and where they can go if they face a problem.
Listening to citizens
An important part of the Navigator is also the “Report a Problem” feature.
Through this option, citizens can share a problem they experienced related to their rights. This does not replace an official complaint to an institution, but it can help us better understand what is happening in our communities.
Sometimes there is a difference between what is written in a law and what citizens experience in everyday life.
By listening to these experiences, we can understand which problems appear more often, where citizens need more information and which issues may need more attention from civil society and institutions.
At the same time, we understand that this information needs to be managed carefully, especially when it comes to privacy and personal information.
Digital tools are only part of the solution
Our project is not only about the website.
We will also organize three community workshops with at least 60 participants, with special attention to young people and women from ethnic communities. Through the workshops, we want to present the Navigator, but also hear directly from citizens about their experiences and needs.
We are also implementing an online awareness campaign. Through social media, we want to speak about community rights in a simple way and encourage people to learn more about their rights and the Navigator.
For us, this connection between online and offline activities is important. It is not enough to create a digital tool and expect that people will automatically use it. We also need to communicate with communities, listen to them, and explain how the tool can be useful.
What digital democracy means for us
Digital democracy can sound like a complicated term, especially for a small civil society organization.
For Common Values, it has a very practical meaning.
Technology should help people to get information, understand their rights, participate and make their voice heard.
Of course, one website cannot solve all problems related to the rights of ethnic communities in North Macedonia. It cannot replace institutions or official mechanisms that protect people’s rights.
But it can make the first step easier.
A citizen can learn about a right, find useful information, understand where to turn if those rights are not upheld.
Through the information received from the Navigator, workshops and communication with citizens, we also hope to better understand some of the challenges communities are facing. This can help us in our future communication with institutions and advocacy activities.
Our main idea with this project is simple: Rights should not only exist on paper. Citizens should know their rights, understand how they can use them and know where to turn when they have a problem.
For us, this is one small but important step towards more informed and active participation of citizens in North Macedonia.
By Florent Bajrami, Common Values, North Macedonia
