Macedonia - First Children’s Embassy in the World, National Coordinator, Global March
 

First Children’s Embassy in the World is celebrating its 14th birthday

First Children’s Embassy in the World is celebrating its 14th birthday. On that occasion, allow us to briefly inform you about the Embassy’s activities in the past years.

The First Children's Embassy in the World - Megjashi (FCEWM) - Republic of Macedonia was founded on the 29th of April 1992 in Skopje. FCEWM is a World Association for protection of children and does not belong to any government or party.

The First Children’s Embassy in the World – Megjashi, Macedonia is a World Association of citizens and represents an international non-partisan, non-governmental and non-profit humanitarian association for the care of children and children's rights, as the first registered international non-governmental organization in the Republic of Macedonia, established in order to protect the rights of the children in the transition period.

First Children’s Embassy in the World – Megjashi stands for honoring children’s personality through the protection of their rights, and through the enrichment of their life with activities that make childhood secure and fruitful.  It also strengthens the NGO movement for protection of children rights in the Republic of Macedonia, by developing the voluntary approach in its operation and by exercising concern for the Convention of Children Rights.

The Embassy contributes to the development and strengthening of citizen awareness through the implementation of its activities.  It brought down the wall of silence concerning children rights, especially related to physical, sexual and economic abuse of children, thereby exposing to the public numerous cases of abuse and directly supporting the establishment of more effective mechanisms for children protection.
The most prominent results in the past 14 years:

  • 1992 – 1997: During the initial stages of the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, First Children’s Embassy in the World – Megjashi appealed for support and organized sheltering of children refugees, directing them in destinations in foreign countries, and providing humanitarian aid and creative activities, thereby aiding around sixty thousand refugee children.
  • 1993 – 2006: The Embassy Megjashi established the first round-the-clock 0800 12222 SOS telephone line in the Republic of Macedonia. 15000 calls in 13 years.
  • 1993: Published the book The  Rights of the Child, the first of its kind in the Republic of Macedonia;
  • 1994 - : Started lobbying to ratify the Hague Convention on civil and legal aspects of international children abductions.  In 1995 this Convention was ratified by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia.
  • 1996: Started lobbying to establish an institution Children’s Ombudsman.  In 1999 the Republic of Macedonia established an Ombudsman’s office acting upon children rights.
  • 1997: The Embassy Megjashi, acting as an associative member of the Defense for Children International, formed a committee of the DCI.  In 1999 this committee registered as a separate NGO supporting children’s rights – the Association for the Protection of Children Rights.
  • 1997 – 2002: The Embassy established a Macedonian National Coalition for Children Rights (28 NGOs), and the Secretariat of this organization was situated in Megjashi.
  • 1999: Acting as the national coordinator, we joined the family of Global March Against Child Labor, and acted to raise public awareness, against the exploitation of children labor, and inclusion of children in education.
  • 1999 – 2000: Campaigned to ratify Convention 182 and Recommendation 190 for emergency elimination of the worst forms of children labor.  In 2002 the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia ratified these documents.
  • 2001: A shelter housing crisis struck children has been established, housing 16 dislocated persons from the village of Arachinovo, 8 of which are children.  Three of them were bourn in the shelter.
  • The Embassy Megjashi won the award for civil society and democracy, for its lasting contribution to establish democratic society in the Republic of Macedonia.  The award has been granted by MCIC.
  • 2001 – 2004: The Children’s Embassy Megjashi formed the Alliance of children organizations in the Republic of Macedonia and created and published the first codex of NGOs and the rights of the children in the country.
  • 2001 – 2002: The Embassy Megjashi started an initiative to alter tax laws related to non-for-profit organizations.
  • 2002 – 2004: The Embassy Megjashi acted to promote volunteerism in the Republic of Macedonia, through the Program Macedonian Volunteer Action (MVA).
  • 2002: Star of the program to establish a non-violent conflict resolution program in the high schools in Macedonia.
  • 2003: The Embassy, in cooperation with Centro Regionale di Intervento per la Cooperacione (CRIC) from Italy, implemented a project “Civil Action through Theater,” including 60 children from 3 multiethnic schools as well as their parents.
  • 2003: On 11th of November 2005, the International day agains Fashism and Antisemitism, we organised a graphiti erasing event, entitled „Let’s put down violence from walls”. The graphiti messages: „Stop violence” and „Love to be loved” have replaced the violent messages erased from the walls. The main goal of this action was the promotion of values such as: everlasting peace, solidarity, non-violence, and respect for the human rights of all people residing in Republic of Macedonia
  • 2004: In cooperation with the H.A. ESE, between June and September, the Embassy prepared 53 amendments to the Family Law and recommendations regarding the Draft Law on Social and Children Welfare.
  • 2005: A campaign is currently running, based on the global campaign “Global Campaign for Education.” The aim of which is to raise public awareness and thus include children in schools.
  • 2006: The First Children’s Embassy in the World ”Megjashi” is in process of realization of the project Psycho - social and educational support for children without parents after leaving orphanage “11 Octomvri” - whose purpose is contribution in socialization of the youths in time when they are leaving the orphanage. The project includes activities like: computer courses, foreign language courses, cooking lessons, supporting and couraging the children for their future life, direct psycho and social counseling... In a frame of this project we completely furnished one apartment with furniture and apparatus, and this apartment will be home for 4 young girls Fatima Ajdar, Aleksandra Spasovska, Sanja Spasovska I Nadira Bajramovska until they are 26.

The First Children’s Embassy in the World – Megjashi is a member of numerous domestic and international organizations like: Civil Platform of Macedonia, Global March Against Child Labor, Defense for Children International, Child Rights Information Network, Child Helpline International, MCIC and many others.