Skopje, 4 November 2024 (MIA) - Building healthy democracies on the principles of freedom and inclusivity is essential for all societies and reduces space for harmful political narratives and disinformation, said the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Skopje, Daniel Fieller, ahead of Wednesday’s “Driving Institutional Accountability through Open Political Communication” conference organized by the Institute for Communication Studies.

“We are proud that together with our partners, the Institute for Communication Studies, we have worked on promoting professional and factual journalism and promoting transparency and accountability in the state institutions of North Macedonia. The UK is a strong and long-standing partner of North Macedonia. We will continue to work with our partners to reduce space for disinformation and hostile narratives, and to support institutions, media and civil society, to strengthen democratic processes and uphold democratic values in the country,” said Fieller.  

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said accountability and transparency are priorities of the Government he leads.

“We are here to demonstrate that accountability and transparency are a priority for us, as a Government, and that we will continue to work like this. We are always trying to be as transparent as possible; I am always trying to respond to all questions,” Mickoski said. 

Asked if the Government has a concrete plan about media education in schools, Mickoski said this is a process that would have to involve all stakeholders.

“This is a meaningful issue that can’t be solved overnight. Over the past period, we have faced a storm of information. Often that information is false and sometimes even malicious... This is a process that should involve the media, the public and the Government, we should draft a solution which wouldn’t be seen as censorship or something that could violate human rights, but which would instead be a democratic tool that could be used to catalyze real information arriving at the right place, at the right time,” Mickoski said.