‘We are all equal’ – learn and play around the country

There are some conceptions for educating children that when they are born, they are ‘tabula rasa’. According to this, children are like sponges, they import whatever we teach them as they grow up.

Thereto, if children are tabula rasa, our mission is to teach them of everything that is good. To teach them to care for the environment, train sports, mingle with children from different backgrounds, play, learn and live with each other.

As organisation OXO has been very vocal on this front. We have started with the production of our TV show “5+ Family” in order to amplify that voice. By promoting the concept of edutainment we are trying to teach children to some positive values. In that spirit is our cooperation with the British Embassy, where we target the youngest generation of the country with the project “We are all equal.”

An educational project “We are all equal” is implemented in 21 primary schools in Macedonia involving children from 6-11 years old, with different ethnic, social and cultural background. Through the significant number of activities that are promoting topics as rights and responsibilities of children, their cooperation, fair play, team work and good habits, the project builds the sense of personal responsibility by practicing and respecting cultural values. As a part of this project we have realized five awesome picture books from five different Macedonian writers and illustrators that will serve in the teaching curricula. We are very proud of the picture books because the messages transmitted by them are equally important for both children and adults. The messages are intended to break the stereotypes that we are imposed on a daily base in Macedonia. The illustrations of the picture books are very colorful and interesting for children’s and we know that they learn visually much faster than theoretical.

The other activities of the project till now are 84 school campaigns with different topics: Art exhibition – “Rights and Responsibilities”, Traditional dance – “Respect and Diversity” in multiethnic society, Interactive sport and fun games – “Team work and Fair play” and Postcard competition for – “Equality and Human Rights” values. We believe that if children participate in joint school activities, they will build positive attitudes for greater intercultural and ethnic tolerance and will have less negative stereotypes of society. If children gain this ability, then the next generation will be able to assist in establishing more tolerant inclusive society.

We stay committed on our mission to help our future generations grow in a better environment with improved understanding of each other and enjoying diversity in the society.

They are our children, they are our common responsibility. We are all equal, we are all diverse.

Milan Tanceski

OXO – Association for education, communication and consulting