Skopje, 7 September 2021 (MIA) – North Macedonia’s Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi participated on Tuesday in a Democracy Workshop of the Austrian Parliament, answering young participants’ questions related to the importance of democracy and parliamentarism. The workshop was held as part of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Vienna. Austrian students from bilingual schools, aged 13 to 15, attended the workshop. “Speaker Xhaferi answered questions from the young participants, who were interested in his opinion on the importance of democracy and parliamentarism, the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, youth involvement in politics, etc.,” the Parliament said in a press release. Xhaferi stressed that democracy is the rule of citizens and the rule of law, which gives individuals the freedom to think, express themselves and act. Democracy is also the ability to listen to each other's different opinions. Democracy workshops have been operating successfully in the Austrian Parliament since 2007, with the aim of stimulating interest in politics and democratic processes among children and young people. “By participating in the workshops, children and young people are encouraged to be aware of democracy, their political critical thinking, involvement and expression of their own opinion are encouraged, and media literacy is improved,” reads the press release. In March 2020, the speakers of the two parliaments, Xhaferi and Sobotka, signed a letter of intent to establish democracy workshops in North Macedonia's Parliament, following the example of those who function in the Austrian Parliament.