Workshop on safety and security of volunteers

In the period of December 12-13, 2024, at the Solferino Hotel in Struga, 33 representatives from the Head Office of the Red Cross of North Macedonia and the Red Cross branches took part in the workshop on volunteer safety as part of activities under the Emergency Appeal for Ukraine, supported by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Through plenary discussions, group work, and individual presentations by the desk officers, the following topics were thoroughly covered: The importance of maintaining volunteer safety and security within the Red Cross of North Macedonia, Types of safety risks for volunteers, Legal challenges and recommendations regarding volunteer safety and security, Analysis of situations with compromised volunteer safety and responses, Volunteer safety and the use of social media, Presentation of policies, response mechanisms, and forms for documenting cases of compromised volunteer safety, and guidelines for promoting safety policies within Red Cross branches and organizations.

On the second day, the topic “Protection of the integrity of the national society” was discussed. The focus was on refreshing knowledge on policies for prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment at the workplace, child protection, and whistleblower protection. Special attention was given to promoting the system for reporting sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, and abuse through the online platform of the IFRC and the email address integritet@redcross.org.mk.