Study visit to Brussels held

From the September 23 to 25, a study visit to Brussels was held as part of the project “Trade Unions are IN – engage, influence, act”.

Trade Union UPOZ from Macedonia, as coordinator of the project, together with partners from Development Center for Youth and Trade Union Nezavisnost from Serbia, as well as representatives of partner organizations from Greece and Turkiye, delegated its representatives who had the opportunity to present to the relevant structures in Brussels the results of the research and the curriculum of the Trade Union Academy prepared, as a new concept for the education of young trade union activists. On that occasion, the importance of the activities of the union’s youth sections and the importance of their continuous improvement was particularly highlighted.

Working part was completed by a visit to the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), which had been bringing together 8 million public service workers across Europe. In the premises of the organization, our representatives had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the way EPSU works and operates, thus exchanging experiences through examples of good practice. EPSU is also an excellent example of the fight for gender equality, which consists of concrete actions and direct negotiations with employers on women’s rights, and is also reflected in their membership, which is mostly represented by women.

Apart from that, our representatives had the opportunity to walk through one of the most beautiful squares in the world and to get to know the fantastic sights and symbols of this city.

Anastasija Nenadović, the representative of Development Center for Youth and the project coordinator for Serbia, emphasized the importance of this visit for the further progress of the project and the action of young people in the field of trade union activism, but she did not hide her enthusiasm for the outcome of the meeting, where the previous work and research results within the project were presented. She was particularly pleased that it was confirmed that the representative of the European Commission would attend the final conference planned for the end of November in Skopje.

UPOZ trade union from Skopje started implementation of the project “Unions are IN – engage, influence, act” together with eight partners from Europe with the aim of strengthening the participation of young people in trade unions through information, training and education. Activities so far as part of the project included: comprehensive research to discover the reasons for inactivity and non-involvement of young people in trade unions; development of the curriculum and implementation of the first Trade Union Academy in Čanj; organizing a study visit to Ljubljana and Mladi Plus Union with the aim of presenting a positive example of trade union activism, and conducting an online campaign with the aim of reaching as many young people as possible.

The project “Unions are IN – get involved, influence, act” is implemented with the support of the European Commission through the ERASMUS+ program, key action 3 – European Youth Together.