The Republic Center for Support of Persons with Intellectual Disability – PORAKA in its 50 years of work, has the professional and methodological support to its local branches as a permanent programme activity. This coordination with its membership brought the Republic Center – PORAKA to realize that persons with intellectual disability and their parents lack information regarding the existing possibilities for protection against discrimination in the Republic of Macedonia and that certain mistrust exists in regards to institutions when it comes to acting and deciding about their rights. Therefore, the Republic Center – PORAKA realized that it is necessary to take action for informing persons with intellectual disability and their parents about the legal possibilities for protection against discrimination and to encourage them for using available mechanisms.
To this end, and with financial support from Foundation Open Society – Macedonia, the Republic Center – PORAKA prepared and produced manual “Protection against discrimination for persons with intellectual disability”. The manual is aimed to offer basic information and to serve as a guide to the opportunities for legal protection against discrimination.
In order to present and distribute the manual, to emphasize the opportunities for protection against discrimination in the Republic of Macedonia and to encourage members for reporting discrimination, the Republic Center – PORAKA organized one-day workshop for representatives of its local branches.
The workshops was held on 16 January 2014 at Hotel Continental – Skopje, with participation of 40 representatives from all local branches of the Republic center – PORAKA, as well as representatives from organizations members of the network for protection against discrimination.
The team of the executive office of the Republic Center – PORAKA led the workshop. Vasilka Dimoska, MD, gave an overview of the legal frame for protection against discrimination in our country, and introduced the participants with the network for protection against discrimination and the membership of the Republic Center – PORAKA in this network. Vlado Krstovski presented the manual for protection against discrimination and explained the Law for protection against discrimination in detail. Then, followed the presentations from the members of the network for protection against discrimination, who shared their experiences regarding activities taken within their organizations. An exercise for reporting discrimination and filling a complaint to the Commission for protection against discrimination was part of the workshop. Moreover, the participants permanently asked questions and were giving examples for discrimination arising from their work or personal experience. At the end of the workshop, all the participants agreed for organizing other workshops if there is a need for further information regarding the legislation in the Republic of Macedonia.
