Dear,

In the past year we started to work on a new project that we called Transformation-28 which represents our bold ambition that goes beyond incremental change – we are starting a process that will allow us over the next five years to rethink and adapt our business and operating models to deliver added value.

We begin this transformational journey with the hope that it will offer us new solutions and perspectives on how to change and adapt our agenda to respond to the continuous changes in the external environment.

The new development framework of the Red Cross of RNM that we present today is our humble attempt to contribute and invest in comprehensive changes in 24 areas of work of the Red Cross over the next five years incorporated and presented in a beautiful trilingual publication that we are honored and have the pleasure to promote before the general public.

Through a longer consultation process and cooperation with our partners and supporters and the whole organization, in the past year we set our development postulates trying to be self-critical and to detect areas where we can improve, to be innovative and look into the future in order to initiate positive changes that will enable us to keep up with trends, with the development of technology, with possible risks and challenges, and with the needs of our beneficiaries.

In our new development framework our staff at the HQ draw the picture how would our organization look like in five years.  We defined our tasks and areas where we can progress and transform, through internal reorganization, through the introduction of new services and activities, and defining modalities for cooperation with our partners.

We put special emphasis on analyzing the situation and determining our priorities related to the improvement of the social and health well-being of people, preparedness and response to disasters, dealing with the consequences of climate change, environmental protection, reorganization of our structural setup, mobilizing volunteers and membership and work with the young people, migrations, water rescue and mountain safety, humanitarian diplomacy, promotion of international law and other activities.

In our development platform, we have defined target areas in which we will invest capacities and hard work, with the intention, in the years ahead, to develop and introduce services of interest to citizens that will enable us to become a complementary partner of state institutions, domestic and international organizations and companies in the country that work on improvement of the quality of people’s lives.

Our commitments may be modest, but our expectations are high. However, the Red Cross organization was founded on those premises in 1863. To provide help and support people at risk, even if it was just a stated nice word. We aim to be initiators of change. Changes that will mean a lot for the young people but also for older generations. Changes that will mean preparedness for partnerships with various stakeholders in many areas. Changes where sometimes we will lead the change and sometimes we will only help. Changes that will mean new services for citizens. Changes that will contribute to a better life for different target groups of the population.

The Transformation-28 development framework is accompanied by an Action Plan in which we present some of our transformational activities defined by a time frame that will be integrated into our operational annual plans. In our action plan, we expect to be joined by many of our partners on our transformation journey with their own ideas and projects that are closely related to our development commitments. We also hope that our development framework will serve as a good practice that can be shared by other national societies in the region and beyond as our contribution in the development of the regional and universal efforts for promotion and enrichment of the humanitarian work.

We want to be proactive and lead positive changes in our social environment. To be leaders of initiatives and projects that will contribute for harnessing the comparative advantages, competencies and achievements of our organization and of our partners. An example of this is the tomorrow’s simulation exercise “Humanitarian Response 2023”, which we are organizing together with our partners in an attempt to make a positive contribution to ensure an efficient response for rescue of injured people, administering first aid, psychological support and transport of injured from earthquake and mobilization of volunteers for humanitarian response.

In our process of changes, above all, we want to be complementary, to offer services, competencies and resources that will mean progress in our social environment. Our results and accomplishments should be a contribution to the improvement of the overall health and well-being of the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Allow me to take the opportunity to express gratitude to all the representatives of institutions, partners, experts, representatives of the Red Cross Movement and all others who helped us in creating our new development framework. Special thanks to my team who worked for more than a year on the preparation of this publication, which will represent a continuation of what many generations of Red Cross volunteers and staff have done before us.

Thank you for your attention