Team members from CO North Macedonia recently took part in the 2019 edition of the Skopje Marathon, one of the biggest sporting events in the country.

On 4 May, the UNFPA team completed the race branded with ICPD25- and UNFPA-branded t-shirts and signs. The specific message this year was inclusion, as the team included a very popular activist with Down syndrome.

“We run for Ensuring the rights and choices for all! We run for Accelerating the Promise and for Equality and Dignity“, said OIC and team leader Afrodita Shalja. “It is because we believe in what we do and we do it with passion“.

Around 60 countries were represented at the Skopje Marathon, which took place for the 15th time. The race was first held in 1997 but then stopped for a few years before it was resumed in 2007. The Skopje Marathon now attracts around 12,000 entries in the three main races.

“I was delighted to be part of the team, especially in a year that is so important for our causes, the year that marks 50 years of UNFPA and 25 years of the International Conference for Population and Development“, says Mr. Aleksandar Matovski (Cako), well known in North Macedonia for defending the rights of the persons with disabilities, especially their sexual and reproductive rights.

UNFPA North Macedonia team members - Skopje Marathon, 2019  ©UNFPA MK