From 1-4 July 2019 in Hotel Izgrev, Struga, a networking meeting for women`s civil society organizations active on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia was held in the organization of Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and the Organization of Women of Sveti Nikole. The aim of the meeting was to bring organizations together, to share information about current activities, the perceptions of the women`s movement and the situation of women`s rights in the Republic of Macedonia. The meeting was also used as an opportunity to discuss and exchange opinions and ideas about strengthening the organizational capacities and the women`s movement through joint action, which also means advocating before the relevant institutions and creating policies for achieving gender equality. Other discussion points included the ways of increasing the flow of information, sharing of activities and actions implemented at local and national level. Feminism and feminist identity, its demystification and incorporation into the policy creation and the tools for advocating before the relevant institutions were also discussed.
Special emphasis was put during the meeting on the current anti-gender movements which is taking Europe and the rest of the world by storm. Furthermore, the assessment of the situation of women`s CSOsand women activists in Macedonia in the period 2018-2019 prepared by Ms Biljana Bejkova and Ms Kristina Hadzi-Vasileva with the support of Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, was also presented in the meeting. The goal of the assessment is to get a clearer picture of the challenges women`s CSOs are facing, their strategic goals and activities, as well as provide new ideas for improving the women`s movement in Macedonia.
