OSCE Mission to Skopje supports active citizenry in borderline villages with Serbia

The “Active citizenry” project aiming to strengthen effective co-operation mechanisms between the local authorities, citizens and the police in the country’s northern borderline area ended in Lipkovo municipality, Kumanovo, on 10 December 2014.

The project, supported by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, was designed to identify the community concerns of residents in borderline villages, and to foster the pro-active participation of the local population in addressing these issues.

“The Mission to Skopje has been a driving force to transfer some of the internationally recognized best practices on community policing and outreach to the national counterparts in the country. The Citizens Advisory Group and Local Prevention Councils are an excellent example of these types of mechanisms, which can improve communication in society,” said the Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Ralf Breth.

“These renewed synergies between different parts of the society - the police, citizens and the authorities, mark the success of the project.”

As part of the project, the Mission also donated bicycles to the students of Rilindja primary school, who during the closing ceremony demonstrated a bike security exercise, organized in co-operation with the Prevention Unit of the Sector for Internal Affairs in Kumanovo.