On April 24, 2024, Paulina Pospieszna served as one of the international observers during the final session of the Skopje Citizens' Assembly. The assemlby was organized by the ZIP Institute and coordinated by Sanja Mancheva, President of the Association for Education, Promotion, and Social Entrepreneurship Development “CO-CREATORS” in Stip. It was a top-down event led the City of Skopje and received additional financial support from the European Climate Foundation, the Council of Europe – Elections and Participatory Democracy, and the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU). It was also guided and supported by Polish NGOs, the Center for Blue Democracy, which is a leading organization in Poland with expertise in organizing citizens' assemblies and training future coordinators. This organization assisted with the random selection process and overall guidelines.
The Skopje Citizens’ Assembly focused on addressing the question: “What can the government do to lower air pollution in Skopje?” The assembly held multiple sessions on various dates: February 17, 2024, introduced the topic, followed by a session on March 2, 2024, which featured experts on renewable energy. On March 16, 2024, experts on transportation were present, and on March 30, 2024, experts on public health in relation to air pollution shared their insights. Two deliberation sessions took place on April 13, 2024, and April 27, 2024.
Paulina Pospieszna participated in the last session where recommendations were presented and voted upon. Other international observers from Portugal, Kosovo, and Albania were also present. A total of 34 recommendations were proposed and voted on, later presented to the invited Vice-Minister for Environment of Macedonia. The recommendations were divided into three categories: transport, energy, and public health. This event marked an important step in the collaborative efforts to address air pollution in Skopje, highlighting the value of citizen involvement in democratic processes and environmental policy-making.
