Skopje, 10 July 2026 (MIA) -- Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Serbian and Bosnian language copies of a handbook against peer violence have been distributed to elementary schools nationwide and published online to help parents and teachers address the issue among schoolchildren as part of Makpetrol's "Stop Bullying: Raise Your Voice Against Peer Violence" campaign.

The book is titled "A Handbook for Dealing with Peer Violence Aimed at Working with Students" (Ars Lamina, 2025). It was written by psychologist Despina Stojanovska based on the workshops she ran as part of the Makpetrol-sponsored campaign aimed at providing adults and kids with practical tools to deal with peer violence, organizers said in a press release.

According to the release, the campaign has brought national attention to the problem. Over the past two years, 620 anti-bullying workshops were attended by more than 18,000 students at over 150 elementary schools in 26 municipalities nationwide and some 3,000 adults attended another 17 workshops organized for parents.

In addition, more than 10,000 copies of educational materials were printed and distributed as part of the campaign. "By making the handbooks available online as well, we want these materials to reach as many people as possible," Makpetrol representatives are quoted as saying in the release.

Rolled out together with the Ministry of Education and Science, the campaign has positioned the Macedonian fuel distributor as a socially responsible company.

"Social responsibility, with a particular focus on children and young generations, remains one of Makpetrol's most important strategic commitments," organizers said, stressing the company's long-term efforts to support building safe learning environments for kids. mr/