Exploring SDGs throughout the city of Skopje
On the last day of the fourth SEED training held in Skopje, North Macedonia, the students and the teachers were divided into five groups and had the task to explore Skopje and find one Social Development Goal to present to the others. The goal could have been connected to either a positive or negative view, however, there was an interesting outcome…
GROUP A
The first group found inspiration for an SDG in the city center and here are their thoughts:
We see a good step from our community because they reused a space on the top of GTC and made it a green space for young people to hang out. It’s an opportunity to reduce air pollution and a great flip from its previous state. We hope that in the future they take more initiatives like this and find better uses for sights that have potential, just like this rooftop had.
We are still far from these goals because right across this beautiful infrastructure we have a bad example of how things should not stay especially in the city center, just like this building that is falling apart.
But one step is better than staying in one place.
GROUP B
This group decided to explore the famous river Vardar, here’s what they found:
The Vardar is the biggest river in North Macedonia and one of the biggest on the Balkan. It flows through 3 cities: Gostivar, Skopje and Veles and the pollution starts from the beginning. There are a lot of bridges that people throw the trash from directly in the Vardar. Also, there are plenty of places where wastewater is dropped in the river. Our Macedonian friends told us that their grandparents used to swim in the Vardar and that there used to be a beach, but throughout the time that changed. Because of all of that and urbanization, the ecosystem isn’t developed. It is believed that some fish do live there but mostly just bacteria.
GROUP C
This team decided to explore the center of the city because they are aware that besides the beautiful monuments there are many horrible sights of lack of good infrastructure.
They found inspiration for the 9th SDG called Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure in the huge hole in the road that welcomed them into the city. It reminded them to spread awareness in that sector of SDGs. From that point, it was easy to find new problems that prevented them from enjoying the amazing view. Next, they went to the city park and another bump in the road was there for a surprise. Then they saw an abandoned building site that was not far from the first issue. While exploring they also found a destroyed bridge that put the cherry on top.
All in all, it’s scary how easy it is to find problems worth solving if we just open our eyes a little bit more and become more conscious about our environment
GROUP D
One of the biggest dangers to the environment and water species is water pollution.
Water pollution is the contamination of water sources by substances that make the water unusable for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other activities. One of the biggest pieces of evidence of water pollution in Macedonia is the river Vardar. In the photo attached, we can see a view that is hard to miss which is an accumulation of trash. The amount of waste which is in the river Vardar makes it hard for underwater species to live here. The trash made the water so polluted that the underwater life does not have enough resources to survive. It is important to educate people about the consequences of littering because one small piece of trash can add up to one big problem, which could be harmful and very hard to clean up.
GROUP E
Climate action - small step for overcoming mountain pollution
The photo was taken from the top of Vodno mountain. It is one of the most visited places for tourists because it gives them a full view of the town and how spacious it actually is. Locals use the mountain and trails to the mountain top for recreational purposes and it is most visited during the weekends.
Because it is the place that numerous people visit, it is highly important to keep nature untouched and undamaged. This was seemingly undoable with the negative mindset that Macedonians tend to have. However, it turned to be a success story after all!
Visiting this mountain top is only doable by foot or by using the zip-line, which contributes to no pollution from cars and other vehicles. The area is protected by law, so no wildlife or trees are to be damaged otherwise there are high fines to be paid. The top of the mountain is adjusted with wooden sitting areas, recreational centre for grown-ups and children which we believe contributes to raising awareness for very early age about the importance of nature and preventing pollution.