Macedonia
Macedonia, formerly part of the country of Yugoslavia, achieved its independence without violence in 1991. However, Macedonia has its own history of tension between the majority population of Macedonian speakers and a large ethnic Albanian minority. These tensions erupted into violence in March 2001 in the northwest region of Tetovo, where Albanians outnumber Macedonians, as fighters from neighboring Kosovo crossed the border and inflamed the grievances of the Albanian community, threatening to ignite a civil war in Macedonia.
The Tetovo Educators Project built bridges of trust between Macedonian and Albanian educators in the divided city of Tetovo and supported educational projects that brought together students and communities separated by enmity and prejudices.
From 2002-05, Karuna Center staff led ten seminars for educators (teachers and administrators from all levels) from the two ethnic groups in the Tetovo region, where they learned to explore their history and perceptions, share their experiences and manage conflicts between them creatively. This process with the teachers bore fruit in a multitude of projects, large and small, that brought together students from four ethnic groups (lesser numbers of Turks and Roma as well as the Macedonians and Albanians), not only in school but in the wider community. Students cooperated in televised “student parliaments” during which multi-ethnic teams debated issues of common concern; collaborated as multi-ethnic teams to display their school projects, participated in regional and national competitions; developed environmental programs in their neighborhoods; celebrated each other’s holidays and customs; and published multi-lingual newspapers in schools. Through the courage and commitments of these educators, teachers and parents became involved in the work of rebuilding trust in Tetovo. The Tetovo Educators Project culminated with a Training of Trainers Program, where selected educators received advanced training in order to replicate and multiply the project’s goals throughout the school system.
