USAID introduced the youngest students in Macedonia to the rights and responsibilities of democracy including the concepts of transparency, cooperative participation, and respect for diversity. USAID helped fund the creation of the Foundations of Democracy curriculum for grades 1-4, and Project Citizen program for grades 5 and 6. Project Citizen students confront a real problem and develop a plan to resolve it, as well as prepare a portfolio displaying their work and compete in regional exhibitions.

As part of the program, 5th grade students in the Kole Nedelkovski elementary school challenged the traffic conditions that had created serious safety concerns and had curtailed use of the school’s playground. They met with local businesses, invited television coverage, and made a personal presentation to the mayor of Skopje. Their efforts prompted the city to control traffic and illegal parking allowing the students to regain the use of their playground.