For ALL Women and Girls: Biljana Kalamadevska, the woman who builds safer streets and inclusive communities

For years, the residents of Berovo - a small mountain municipality in eastern North Macedonia – shared a simple but life-threatening daily reality: walking to school, the playground, the shops, or work meant sharing the road with passing cars. There was no paved sidewalk. Students, parents with strollers, elderly people, and people with disabilities had no choice but to step aside for traffic every single day.

That changed in 2025, when a new pavement was finally built along Damjan Gruev Street, the main road leading to the “Aco Rusokovski” high school, shops, and the local cemeteries. Behind the project was Biljana Kalamadevska, 40, the Coordinator for Equal Opportunities in the Municipality of Berovo, who, thanks to the UN Women’s programme on gender-responsive budgeting, understood that a stretch of concrete would mean far more than just infrastructure. In her role, she leads local efforts to advance gender equality and social inclusion, focusing on creating environments where every woman and girl can move safely and participate fully in community life.

A matter of equal access to public space

“The idea came directly from the community,” explains Biljana Kalamadevska. “Girls and women repeatedly raised the issue of unsafe walking conditions. They said they were afraid to go to school or to visit friends because there was no pavement. We realized this wasn’t only a question of infrastructure - it was a matter of equal access to public space and quality of life.”

The people most affected by the missing sidewalk were women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. So Kalamadevska and her colleagues decided to take action. The proposal was included in the 2025 Equal Opportunities Programme and the Local Street and Road Maintenance Plan, and later secured funding under the Programme for Local Roads, Streets, and Bridges.

Convincing everyone it was about more than pavement sidewalk

“At first, the challenge was convincing everyone that this wasn’t just about paving a sidewalk - it was about safety, equality, and inclusion,” Kalamadevska recalls. “We needed to back up the citizens’ voices with data.”

A traffic and safety risk analysis – conducted after a field inspection by municipal technical services - confirmed what residents had been saying for years: the location was dangerous and the need was urgent. “The analysis helped us prioritize and secure support,” says the coordinator.

The analysis and planning were carried out in coordination with relevant institutions and aligned with the municipality’s planning documents and development programmes.

“We also engaged citizens throughout the entire process, from planning to completion, to ensure their needs were fully met, resulting in a safe, clean, and welcoming walking path that directly addresses the community’s top priorities of safety, accessibility, and quality public space,” clarified Kalamadevska.

Funding was secured externally from the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, covering construction costs in full.

“Small steps can make a big difference”

Today, more than 300 students at the “Aco Ruskovski” high school walk to school safely. Children can reach the nearby playground without stepping onto the road. Teachers and other adults have a clear walking path. Elderly residents face less risk of falls, people with disabilities move with greater ease, and parents no longer have to navigate traffic with a stroller. Even drivers benefit - with fewer pedestrians on the road, traffic flows more smoothly.

“This project shows that small steps can make a big difference,” the coordinator says. “When we listen to citizens - especially youth and women - we can transform everyday challenges into real, lasting change. Safe public spaces are not just an infrastructure issue; they are about dignity, equality, and the right to move freely.”

This initiative was implemented by the Municipality of Berovo with mentoring support from UN Women, as part of the programme “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Republic of North Macedonia – Phase 2,” funded by Switzerland, and the programme “Promoting Gender Responsive Governance in the Republic of North Macedonia,” funded by Sweden. Through these programmes, Biljana Kalamadevska and her colleagues built practical skills in developing gender-responsive budgets, translating real community needs into concrete budget allocations and making local budgets more responsive.