year, too. ? Young people in RM, no matter to the ethnic belonging, think that the education has the most positive influence on the interethnic relations. Young Albanians also think that the nongovernmental and the international organisations have positive influence. ? According to young people in RM, the political parties, media and the government all have a negative influence on the interethnic relations. The political and media exploitation of the interethnic relations creates a negative attitude about this issue among the youth. ? Corruption in the Republic of Macedonia is perceived as one of the most critical problems. There is a general consensus among young people with regard to this issue. ? Young people unambiguously think that corruption is one of the most responsible factors for the weak economic situation in the Republic of Macedonia. ? Despite the negative perception towards corruption among a great many young people, the culture of corruptive behaviour is tolerated or accepted by many. ? A degree of social solidarity with handicapped people, as well as with poor people, is present to a great extent among the young population in the Republic of Macedonia. ? There is a passive resistance among the young population (especially men) regarding the rights of women. ? The rights of the homosexual population in the Republic of Macedonia are facing an active resistance among the young generation that demonstrates the existence of social taboos among the greatest part of this age group. ? The rights of minorities still have a subjective and prejudiced perception among the youth which varies according to their ethnicity. ? Young people in the Republic of Macedonia show a strong conservative capacity with regard to the treatment of different social groups. Recommendations: ? Create conditions for greater social engagement of the young people, primarily in the public institutions and the professional associations, through giving them volunteer work. ? Promote the need and the usefulness of the inclusion of the young people in public institutions and nongovernmental organisations that deal with youth­related issues. ? Create mechanisms for educating young people about the public political institutions and membership within the same. Besides the educational themes in the public institutions, within the formal or informal education one day in the year the public political institutions could be open for young people to visit. ? Make instruments by which the young people can express themselves and their attitudes that will be available to the general public in RM, first of all in the youth organisations, but also in other institutions that are interested(for example: younger generations of the political parties). ? Provide greater public support among banks and international organisations in order to induce greater engagement among the youth. ? Establish mechanisms, first of all in the economy, for engaging young people with higher levels of education. ? End the government's and the political party's practice of employing political party's members in the public administration. ? Include in the educational system themes that will address the interethnic relations. Regardless of whether such themes will be a part of the formal or informal education system, they should be implemented across the whole territory of the Republic of Macedonia, not only in the multiethnic environments. ? Programs and projects aimed to improve the interethnic relations should be also active outside of multiethnic environments. ? Stop political parties and the public political institutions from addressing interethnic relations in their everyday politics, and stop the practice of ethnic mobilisation for political support. ? Emphasise in the media information about facts and arguments before focusing on the ethnic membership. Ethnicisation of events, at any price, engenders negative attitudes towards the media, and it is also dangerous for interethnic relations. ? Initiate a more comprehensive campaign to fight corruption at all levels, especially at the level of system decisions which make allowances for such practices. . ? Start a public campaign in order to fight corruption with a special focus on the consequences that it causes for the economy of the country. ? Initiate a public debate about the issue of gender rights, as well as the rights of the homosexual population. ? Increase efforts to change the perception of the rights of minorities, taking the same out of the context of "winners" and"losers". ? Determine and analyze the reasons that lead to the creation of a strong conservative capacity among the young population in Macedonia. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung 23