Peer education Training for trafficking Prevention

In the period from 14th-17th February 2019 in the Training Center “Solferino” in Struga, a training workshop for peer educators for trafficking prevention in human beings was held within the project “Youth in the fight against human trafficking” financially supported by the Agency for Youth and Sport. The workshop was attended by a 15 representatives from the Red Cross branches Veles, Negotino and Sveti Nikole, who had the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills for raising awareness among young people about the phenomenon of human trafficking. During the training, first emphasis was placed on the importance of applying the methodology of peer education in programs that directly relate to the health and safety of youth. The sessions were conducted in accordance with the handbook for peer educators of the Macedonian Red Cross, which is in line with the World Health Organization’s “Peer Education Standards” and the Manual on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The types of human trafficking, phases, precautionary measures and methods of prevention were elaborated in detail. Case studies from the region were shared and the film “Sisters” was screened and discussed in detail about the possible danger of the problem among young people. Individual presentations were also conducted where the acquired skills and knowledge, accuracy of information, control of time and organization of educational sessions, body language and presentation techniques, evaluation of workshops and preparation of reports were analyzed.

The entire training was conducted by specially  two trained   for human trafficking prevention educators Sofia Stojanovska and Angela Srbinovska, and additional guidelines for the implementation of the activities within the Red Cross programs were given by Vladimir Vukelic – Coordinator of the project and Ljupka Petkovska – expert associate for social humanitarian activity at the Macedonian Red Cross and representative of the Red Cross Secretariat of the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Illegal Migration in the Republic of Macedonia .