The Civic Tracks Association is non-governmental active in defending and promoting respect for civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The organization follows the principles of all people being entitled freedom to self-determination, freedom and the right to speak freely. The organization actively works on strengthening the rule of law, respect for human rights, minorities, democratically elected governments and civil society that will keep governments accountable.
Advance public awareness for preservation and improvement of the environment, preservation of cultural, historic and natural heritage, as well as supporting democracy and advocates for human rights and democracy.
The Civic Tracks Association is an independent nonpartisan organization that envisions a world in which all people live with dignity, freedom, justice, equality and peace. The organization implements the international human rights standards to protect the rule of law and promote civil society.
The Civic Tracks Association aims to contribute to strengthening intercultural dialogue and societal cohesion shaping contemporary democracies, human and cultural rights. The organization provides young people with training and tools for them to be able to develop and implement creative project activities that will enable them to act and create freely. Our mission is to contribute to building a world where cultural diversity is respected and valorised, where people from different cultural backgrounds develop common and harmonious cooperation.
Civic Tracks has released an " International and Regional Human Rights Documents Collection". This extensive work contains instruments, either on human rights or relevant to human rights protection. The volume offers a practical and extensive compilation of important human rights documents, suitable for students, academics, legal practitioners, governmental and non-governmental organizations and anyone else interested in human rights. The documents in this collection are available in Macedonian and English, while the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is available in Macedonian, English, Albanian, Turkish, Serbian, Romani and Vlach. The collection was distributed to municipalities in Republic of Macedonia, police, courts, trade unions, educational institutions, NGOs and the media, as well as to related NGOs in Korca, Albania and Kozani, Greece. This edition by its nature unites the advantages of all media (press, radio, TV) providing the user with an individual presentation of human rights and freedoms in an attractive and flexible way. For maximum effect, in addition to modern design solutions, the content is available in audio form, which is adapted to the needs of the visually impaired, while in order to attract the attention of children, the basic rights and freedoms are presented through an animated film.The project was supported by UNDP & UNHCR.
Civic Tracks with the support of the Municipality of Bitola implemented the projects "Building true values" and "All together for a safe childhood" dedicated to human rights protection. The project is intended for primary school children in Bitola and aims to encourage the acceptance of positive values from an early age and respect for basic human rights. In order for young people to get acquainted with basic rights and freedoms from an early age, to learn to recognize them, a series of workshops were organized for primary school students in the municipality of Bitola, which included 250 students in education. The project included organizing a series of human rights workshops in primary schools in Bitola.
The project "Building a future with mutual respect" was aimed at educating and socializing young people in the field of human rights, including activities for protection of human rights, introducing citizens to democratic standards and restoring mutual trust as a contribution to the process of integration of Macedonia in EU and the realization of the goals of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe. The objectives of the project were: implementation of intercultural learning, human rights education, tolerance and democracy; strengthening interethnic integration and promoting coexistence between the majority and the minority through human rights dialogue and enabling people from different communities to work together to achieve common goals. The implementation of the project included training of trainers in the field of human rights for 27 high school students and members of non-governmental organizations from Bitola, Prilep and Demir Hisar and the publication of a "Handbook on Human Rights". After the training of trainers, human rights workshops were organized in primary and secondary schools in Bitola, Prilep and Demir Hisar. The project was supported by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje and the local self-government of Bitola.
Within this project, a "Youth Center for Human Rights" was established in Bitola in order to act in the field of human rights, with special emphasis on informing and educating young people about human rights, monitoring the observance of human rights, respecting and organizing of trainings for young coaches in primary and secondary schools in Bitola, Prilep, Demir Hisar and Resen. Special emphasis was placed on the importance of human rights and the ways of reacting to legal institutions and the media in conditions when there is a violation of rights and freedoms. At the same time, a Library for Human Rights was established with materials from this area, and a brochure for young people, "Human Rights", was published. In cooperation with the Office for Free Legal Aid, it was concluded that most often human rights are violated in the field of labor relations. After this, together with the Regional Trade Union Council, educational activities were organized for protection of employment rights. The project was supported by the Open Society Institute Foundation within the Youth Fund. The project involved primary and secondary schools from Bitola, local self-government, other non-governmental organizations and the media.
The "My Zone" project was guided by the idea of creating a zone where young people will stand up for their rights, express their views and influence public opinion in the direction of affirmation and protection of human rights and freedoms. Creating "My Zone" means creating a network between the public, young people and the media as a basis for the long-term development of a generation of young journalists. The project included training in the field of journalism for 80 young people who attended lectures and participated in practical media workshops, where they had the opportunity not only to make their zone an equal part of civil society, but also to work together regardless of political, ethnic, social and other differences. Through education, these young people practiced independent work, which resulted in two printed manuals (theoretical and practical) for journalism, a series of youth shows and the publication of a youth magazine. Red Room magazine is a symbol of life, movement and everything that provokes interest among the young generation. In "Red Room" magazine, we are looking for the answers to current questions that affect young people. It is a space where we create our world without prejudice and censorship. Through such their own media, young people were given the opportunity to influence public opinion and express their views. With the support of the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia, the project was implemented in coalition with the electronic and print media in Bitola, high schools in Bitola, Prilep, Demir Hisar and Resen.
With the support of the Municipality of Bitola, several documentaries have been produced within the cultural program.
The documentary "Stories from Shirok Sokak" is dedicated to the unique ambience of Bitola. Through the statements of historians, archaeologists, ethnologists and publicists, the film reveals how only Bitola in its history has gathered so many consuls and consulates, although it is not the capital. Only in Bitola there were so many churches that according to the legends the city got its name, and later grew into a cosmopolitan center. The film also shows unique events, for example that in Bitola 90 years ago chess was played with live figures or live people, which is registered with the photo lens of the Manaki brothers.
The documentary "The Bridge between Bitola and Ningbo" presents the cooperation and friendship between the Macedonian municipality of Bitola and the seven million Chinese municipality of Ningbo.
A dynamic video story shows how these two municipalities from Macedonia and China, through a process of twinning, built a bridge of friendship and cooperation from Bitola to Ningbo, thus opening perspectives for future cooperation and developing economic and cultural contacts, investing and promotion of national products from both countries. The film is titled "The Bridge between Bitola and Ningbo" and the title emphasizes the symbolism of the size of the bridge of friendship between Bitola and Ningbo. Namely, Ningbo is the longest overseas bridge in the world, 36 km long, which connects the city with the financial capital Shanghai. This bridge is a symbol of Ningbo's economic power. On the other hand, the bridge of friendship from Bitola to Ningbo is even bigger, it is about 12,000 km long (distance between Bitola and Ningbo), which symbolizes the size of the good intentions and friendly relations between the two municipalities.
"Pelister - Our Miracle of Nature" is a documentary about the adventurous spirit of Baba Mountain with the Pelister peak, revealing where Macedonian alpinists are preparing to conquer the highest peaks in the world. The film shows the alpine features of this mountain, which is as attractive as the Swiss Alps. Leading the viewer to the top of 2601 meters above sea level, the film reveals the secrets of the two glacial lakes Pelisterski or Gorski oci, which together with the cave Vrelo and Lake Ohrid are on the list of seven new wonders of nature. The film also tells the story of Augustus Griesebach, the first botanist to visit the mountain and celebrate it around the world.