1. Background

“Support to Electoral Reforms in North Macedonia” is a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and its partner National Youth Council of Macedonia (NYCM).

The project overall objective (goal) is to support democratic and credible election processes that facilitate political participation and social integration by enabling voters to freely select their representatives and hold them accountable.

The project activities are designed to support this objective through the achievement of three outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Strengthened institutions conduct fair and efficient election processes
• Outcome 2: Internally democratized political parties present citizen-oriented policies and election programs
• Outcome 3: Empowered citizens hold political parties and elected officials accountable

Project beneficiaries are election management bodies at all levels; government agencies such as Ministry of Information, Society and Administration, Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, State Statistical Office, Ombudsperson Institution, State Audit Office, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice; political parties, civil society organizations, voters and citizens.

The project started the implementation of the Main Phase 1 in August 2019 and it is expected to end in June 2023.

1. Objective of the Call for Community Mobilizers

The aim of this Call is to invite all interested young people in the country to take part in the Community Mobilization Program of the Swiss supported project, be equipped with the necessary skills to raise awareness and mobilize the community about issues relevant to them.

The program will provide interested candidates with space and skills to use their voice and influence the political behavior in the country.

If you are a young civic activist, interested to upgrade your knowledge, interact with various representatives in your community and willing to make a change, then this Call is definitely for you.

• What does this mean?

By becoming a Community Mobilizer, you will be equipped with knowledge and skills to closely follow, monitor the political parties’ promises reflected in electoral programs and government policies at local and central levels, and hold them accountable for their performance and actions.

You will be supported to inspire and mobilize your community to raise their voices, join you in the monitoring activities and demand responses and accountability from the political parties and government representatives. Through these activities contribute to a changed behavior of the political parties towards electorate and citizens in general.

What will the Community Mobilizers do?

All selected candidates will undergo a comprehensive training program on how to conduct monitoring and mobilize community including:

• Trainings and workshop on public participation and community engagement;
• Training on how to conduct a monitoring and what does monitoring of the performance of party platforms and elected officials means;
• Training on how to advocate and interact with elected representatives;
• Coaching and mentorship throughout the entire program and process;
• Training on video production and how to create short videos to present identified problems or monitoring findings using mobile phone camera and editing software;

!!! Following the training program, the Community Mobilizers will be provided financial support to put in practice what they learnt and implement Innovative initiative to mobilize their community in monitoring specific government policy and the progress in its implementation;

All selected candidates must be committed to the entire process and program including:

• Active participation in all trainings and workshops;
• Implementation of Innovative initiative and active mobilization of the community (on the ground and/or via social media and online portals)
• Create promotion materials and tools related to the subject of monitoring including videos, infographics, photos and etc.;
• Public presentation and promotion of the work and the monitoring process and related findings;
• Continuous mobilization of the community regarding the selected topic/policy;
• Regular monthly reports during the implementation of the Innovative Initiative;

During the implementation of the Innovative Initiatives, the Community Mobilizers will be supported and guided by assigned Mentors and other experts.

1. Financial support

Each Community Mobilizer will receive in-kind financial support for implementation of the Innovative Initiative in the amount of 2,000 USD. The timeline for implementation of the initiative and for the monitoring of the campaign promises for the local elections should be no longer than 9 months throughout the year 2021.

During the implementation of the initiatives, all Community mobilizers will receive a monthly stipend of 150 USD per month for 9 months throughout the year 2021.

1. Time frame

The implementation of the above activities (both training program and innovative initiatives) for community mobilizers will take place in the period: February – December 2021.

Approximately one-year commitment availability, participation in all parts of the program are mandatory.

1. Community Mobilizers Qualifications and Requirements:

• Young people (age 18-35);
• Civil society activists, influencers, local media representatives etc.
• Young people interested in politics and willing to make an impact and learn more about monitoring and monitoring tools;
• Young people willing to make a change in the community and mobilize citizens for mutual interest;
• Ability to communicate in English will be considered an advantage;
• Previous experience in similar processes will be considered an asset.

NOTE: NYCM will ensure that the community mobilizers are selected from different municipalities throughout the country including all eight (8) development regions of the country. In addition to geographical coverage, ethnic and gender balance will be considered for the selection of community mobilizers.

• Application procedure

Interested candidates should send their CV (no longer than 2 pages) and a Motivation letter (no longer than 1 page) to  [email protected] no later than 31.12.2020, 23:59h.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the application process or the program please contact Elena Dimovska at [email protected]. All posted questions and consequent answers will be posted on the web site of the project http://electoralreforms.mk/

If you want to understand more about the past generation of the community mobilizers (active in the period February 2020 until March 2021) please visit our project web site  http://electoralreforms.mk/ and project Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Support-to-Electoral-Reforms-100476728210504

Note: The implementation of the activities of the Community Mobilizers will follow the guidelines and recommendations of the government and health authorities related to COVID-19 pandemic.