We are pleased to announce that Democracy Lab – Youth and Community Center – Gostivar is one of the civil society organizations that received the grant (financial support) for the implementation of the project proposal of the “High School Sports League” in the open call within of the ReLOad project announced by the Municipality of Gostivar that lasted from 15.04.2019 until 27.05.2019.

The Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans (ReLOaD) is a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with 5 municipalities of the country, one of which is the Municipality of Gostivar.

The activities envisioned for the implementation of the Project Proposal “High School Sports League”, will be implemented by Democracy Lab – Youth and Community Center – Gostivar in partnership with the civil society organization Organized Youth Association (OYA).

The main purpose of the project is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, to encourage and advance social cohesion, and to respect the values of diversity and coexistence among high school youth through sports activities. We will achieve this goal through the establishment of a Football League for the male students of the four public high schools, as well as the foundation of a Volleyball Tournament for the female students of the same schools.

The project is planned to be implemented in a period of 8 months, in cooperation with the Municipality of Gostivar and 4 public high schools. During this period, the Football League will be implemented, which will be consisted of 8 teams from 2 of each high school and will focus not only on football matches but also on the training of these students by professional coaches. A Volleyball Tournament for female students will also be implemented at the same time, which will also attend professional training and will consist of 4 teams, one from each high school. In addition to the regular training and matches, the All-Star Match is also scheduled to take place mid-season (January), which will be an opportunity for the Football League players to then have shown better results of playing together.

During the implementation of this project, direct participation in the activities of at least 120 young boys and girls of different ethnic backgrounds is foreseen, as well as the participation of a large number of community members.