The Community Center of the Municipality of Struga, as part of the Forum for Civil Dialog, as a continuation of several previous activities, on October 2, 2025, held a consultative meeting on local civic priorities.
The event was attended by about 20 participants (8 men and 12 women), including representatives of civil society organizations, young people, pensioners and citizens from different professions and ethnic communities (Albanians, Macedonians, Turks).
The following topics and needs were highlighted during the discussion:
• Infrastructure: reconstruction of the road from Veterinarna to Struga, construction of alternative roads to the villages of Livada and Delogozhdi, reconstruction and lighting of the old Struga-Ohrid road, as well as rehabilitation of the streets Juro Salaj and Dimitar Vlahov.
• Parking and urbanism: construction of multi-storey garages near the city market and the “Tim” sports hall, as well as the need for a new urban plan.
• Public services: new water supply system and replacement of the asbestos network, improvement of public transport, regular timetable and control of carriers.
• Environment: solving the landfill problem through dislocation, increasing environmental awareness and establishing a system for recycling and control of wastewater.
• Mobility: development and arrangement of bicycle paths throughout the city.
• Budget and transparency: improving citizens’ access to budget processes, increased cooperation of councilors with citizens and inclusion of young people through youth assemblies.
• Culture and sports: need for reconstruction and greater support for cultural events and sports facilities.
• Education and social protection: expanding the capacities of kindergartens, encouraging crafts and simplifying procedures for supporting vulnerable categories.
• Gender equality: activation of the Equal Opportunities Commission at the Municipal Council.
At the end of the meeting, participants had the opportunity to vote and rank the priorities according to the given methodology. According to the results, the following priorities were rated the highest:
1. Solving the landfill problem (dislocation and/or regular maintenance and supervision); This problem has become increasingly worrying in recent years, as the landfill is located in the immediate vicinity of the city, and despite promises of maintenance, it often catches fire (a problem that periodically occurs) and has caused reactions from citizens in the past 3 months.
2. Renovation of the water supply network and long-term solution to the drinking water problem; In addition to partial reconstruction of the network, citizens are faced with the problem of polluted water or lack of drinking water. It is necessary to find a long-term solution to this problem.
3. Street lighting throughout the year; It has especially emerged as a problem in the last year, when street lighting, according to the discussion with the citizens, was largely lacking, in almost every street/neighborhood it was out of function. which also significantly affects the safety and free movement of citizens in the evening. That is why, despite the many problems in the city, at the public consultation, the citizens decided that street lighting should be one of the highest ranked priorities.
4. Opening a center for people with special needs – In addition to informal initiatives, the citizens believe that this problem needs to be institutionally resolved through greater support from the municipality.
The consultative meeting was organized by the Community Center of the Municipality of Struga, supported by the NGO Infocenter, within the framework of the project “Active citizens and participatory democracy at the local level”, funded by the Olof Palme International Center from Sweden.
