In North Macedonia, the State Election Commission (SEC) remains the primary public institution responsible for providing citizens, including young people, with information on democratic rights, particularly related to voting. Through its official website and periodic media campaigns ahead of each election or referendum, the SEC informs the public about electoral procedures and voting rights. Since March 2024, the SEC has intensified its outreach to youth by engaging with social media platforms. In particular, the SEC held consultations with Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to address disinformation and explore best practices for youth-targeted campaigns. As a result, the SEC now uses Facebook and Instagram to provide “accurate and unbiased information” directly to young voters (SEC, 2024).

Beyond the SEC, the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies (January 2020) mandates that all state administration bodies, municipalities, and the City of Skopje appoint Youth Officers. These officers are responsible for the functioning of Youth Offices, coordinating youth-related programs, monitoring activities, and acting as contact points within their institutions. Based on the most recent available information on Youth Officers (July 2022), 56 Youth Officers had been appointed in state institutions, i.e., within central government bodies. According to responses collected for the 2024 Monitoring of the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies on local level, 55 municipalities had appointed a Youth Officer. This means that, percentage-wise, 68% of municipalities have fulfilled this legal obligation.

Each municipality is also legally obliged to establish at least one Youth Center by January 2025. These centers provide supportive spaces for youth development, personal growth, social and professional skills, access to information, and engagement in community life. According to the 2024 Monitoring Report by the National Youth Council of Macedonia (NYCM, 2024), as of May 2024, Youth Centers were operational in only ten municipalities: Centar, Kumanovo, Probištip, Štip, Veles, Ohrid, Bitola, Lipkovo, and Gostivar. Financial support for these centers is primarily drawn from municipal budgets, often supplemented by national programs or donor-funded projects.

In addition to SEC outreach, civil society organisations have implemented youth‑focused campaigns about democratic rights and civic engagement, often using online platforms and media content aimed at young people. These campaigns focus on informing youth about democratic processes, civic rights, and ways to participate in public life, although measurable impact data is limited or unavailable in many cases. 

The Government of North Macedonia has institutionalized interethnic inclusion under the Ohrid (Framework) Agreement. The Ministry of Inter-Community Relations (formerly “Political System and Inter-Community Relations”) coordinates these efforts. Its legal mandate is to protect communities’ cultural, linguistic and religious identity, ensure use of minority languages, and promote equal representation of all ethnic groups in public life. In practice the ministry focuses on policy coordination: monitoring implementation of the Ohrid obligations, funding minority-language schools, and overseeing language-use and cultural-rights laws. While it has no dedicated youth wing, its work underpins youth inclusion – for example, by accrediting joint Macedonian-Albanian curricula in schools and by supporting “equal representation” quotas.

Despite these efforts, North Macedonia lacks formal national guidelines dedicated specifically to youth‑tailored government communication strategies. The National Youth Strategy 2023‑2027 includes objectives for youth‑accessible communication, calling on institutions to use language and channels appropriate for young audiences, but no official manual or set of standards has been adopted yet. State institutions increasingly use digital and social media to reach younger audiences—such as the Employment Service Agency’s social media campaign promoting youth employment in 2024—yet systematic planning remains limited.

While the Open Government Partnership (OGP) 2024–26 Action Plan includes commitments on digital consultation and public engagement that could benefit youth participation, these mechanisms are not yet explicitly youth‑focused, and stakeholders continue to point out that many young people still primarily receive political information through social media and independent digital channels, underscoring the need for more structured and youth‑responsive public communication.