Angel Dimitrievski is 22 years-old and is the current President of the PTPI Skopje-Macedonia Community Chapter and Youth Coordinator in the European Region. First becoming a member five years ago, his topics of interest in activism include youth activism, gender, disability, education, and media.
Tell us how you became involved with PTPI?
My first encounter with PTPI was during my high school days at the age of 17. At the time I was studying medicine, and my observations for the youth activism in my country differed very much from how I think now. I signed up for my membership in the Skopje- Student Chapter in September 2011. The activities in the chapter helped me grow, develop a critical attitude towards certain societal concerns and, most importantly, it showed me the importance of the individual and the change that can make in the community. In 2013, I’ve made one very big step with opening a PTPI Community Chapter in my hometown. This is the most enthusiastic group of people I have met in my life. I often say that PTPI Skopje is not an office, a building, a place or even one person. It is a state of mind and way of living. I am extremely thankful for the wonderful moments this chapter brought in my life and in the life of many people who benefited from our work.
What inspired you to take such a leadership in your Chapter AND the European Region?
PTPI is an organisation that empowers leadership to their whole membership, even if they don’t have a specific role in their chapter or Region. I was lucky enough to have a 1 year-term as president in the Student Chapter and a 3 year-term as president in the Community Chapter. I accepted these roles with great responsibility, and I was aware of what I was stepping into. There is an enormous challenge of how to keep a group of 70 volunteers motivated to work on spreading Peace through Understanding. The inspiration to accept these leadership positions was my desire to interact with the most ambitious and talented youth minds in Skopje and help our community with joined strengths. Regarding my role in PTPI’s European Executive Committee as Youth Coordinator, I can say that it is a fulfilling one with dynamic and very inspirational moments. My motivation to join this body was primarily because of my opinion that the youth in PTPI are not present enough in the decision-making structures in the organisation. I will always try to be the voice of the young people in Europe and address their needs. Working together with Chalks, Andrei and Charlotte is one great journey, and we are a wonderful team.
How would you like to make a positive change in the world through People to People?
PTPI for me has always been a reaction to what makes you feel worried in your community. Everyone is doing the best they can, given the local context they work in, whether it is an intervention for helping the children from the local hospital, providing clean water, environmental actions, ending gender based violence or volunteering in animal shelters. It all makes the change we want to see in the world. Besides these actions we implement in our communities, my personal aim in PTPI was to work on the importance of spreading the culture of helping on an individual level between our membership. If we have proactive, more compassionate citizens with solidarity, we can achieve even more.