#ZapoznajGiSkopjani
Overview
SmartUp created and self-financed #ZapoznajGiSkopjani (Meet the Skopjans), a community-driven storytelling initiative strengthening local identity, social cohesion, and civic engagement in Skopje. SmartUp documented and published the personal stories of more than 110 citizens — highlighting the city's cultural diversity, urban heritage, and everyday changemakers — and organized community events bringing residents together through storytelling, music, and networking.
SmartUp built a volunteer network of writers, photographers, designers, and interviewers to sustain content creation, and developed a branded merchandise line to fund the initiative's ongoing activities — demonstrating SmartUp's ability to design and sustain community engagement work independent of donor funding. The initiative grew into a broader platform promoting local events, youth initiatives, NGOs, and artists across Skopje.
The challenge
Many inspiring stories of ordinary citizens, local activists, artists, and entrepreneurs remained unheard, limiting opportunities to strengthen community identity and social cohesion.
Young people had few opportunities to engage with their city beyond traditional cultural activities or to actively contribute to documenting and promoting local urban culture.
Community initiatives often struggled to achieve long-term sustainability without external funding, requiring innovative approaches to community engagement and resource generation.
There was a need for creative formats that could encourage dialogue between residents, strengthen local pride, and increase visibility of positive community initiatives and urban culture.
Activities and methods
1. Collected and published the personal stories of more than 110 citizens, documenting the diverse identities, experiences, and urban culture of Skopje through a dedicated storytelling platform.
2. Organized two community events that brought together residents through storytelling, music, networking, and cultural activities, creating opportunities for meaningful social interaction.
3. Established and expanded a volunteer network of writers, photographers, designers, and interviewers who contributed to content creation and community engagement.
4. Developed a recognizable visual identity and launched branded merchandise (T-shirts and stickers) as a self-financing mechanism to support future activities and events.
5. Expanded the initiative into a broader community platform that promoted local events, youth initiatives, NGOs, artists, entrepreneurs, and urban culture through regular storytelling and media content.
Impact and learning
#ZapoznajGiSkopjani demonstrated the power of personal storytelling to strengthen community identity and civic pride, giving more than 110 citizens — ordinary residents, local activists, artists, and entrepreneurs — a platform to share stories that would otherwise have remained unheard. By centering everyday changemakers rather than institutions, the initiative helped residents see their city's cultural diversity and urban heritage reflected in the people around them.
The initiative also built a volunteer community of writers, photographers, designers, and interviewers who sustained the project's storytelling and content creation over time, while its community events created new opportunities for residents to connect through shared culture, music, and dialogue. As the initiative grew, it evolved into a broader platform amplifying local events, youth initiatives, NGOs, and artists — extending its impact beyond storytelling into wider community promotion.
Operating entirely as a self-financed initiative, #ZapoznajGiSkopjani also demonstrated SmartUp's capacity to design sustainable, low-cost models for civic engagement, using branded merchandise to fund its ongoing activities. The project showed that meaningful community-building initiatives can be sustained independent of donor funding, offering a replicable model for grassroots storytelling and civic engagement in Skopje and beyond.
Gallery
Planning similar work?
SmartUp can support research, co-creation, facilitation, digital tools, implementation, or learning documentation for related programmes.