Who If Not You(th) is a FORUM 16 program that focuses on youth empowerment and activism.
Its name originates from our “Who If Not You(th)”initiative, which began in 2015 with mentoring by FORUM 16 of four high school students (Maria Kostovska, Mario Kjurchievski, Vladimir Ristevski and Bojana Popovska) in the process of project development. The aim of the initiative was to raise the awareness of young people about opportunities in their local community and the contribution they can make by organizing events on different topics. From this initiative, FORUM 16 developed its approach to youth involvement and leadership, directly involving young people in the design and implementation of its youth-centred programming and incorporating youth activists into the governing body of the association.
Among the key activities in this program are:
- Who Who If Not You(th) Academy, with program providing a more concentrated and intensive approach to youth leadership development.
- From Youth to Youth with Love: Marking action days within the No Hate Speech Moement initiated by the Council of Europe. FORUM 16 has been involved in this Movement since 2013, and in 2017 the project “New Generation of Youth Leaders Against Hate Speech” was implemented. This project provided training for students and staff of six Bitola high schools and provided support in the development of action plans for combating hate speech, discriminatory and insulting speech in schools.