*This article is published as a recognized Best Corporate Social Responsibility Practice for 2024, under the framework of the “Partnership for Giving” project, implemented by Association Konekt and AmCham North Macedonia, with support from USAID.
Running teaches us to overcome our comfort zone. Moreover, it is not only about challenging physical endurance, running is also a challenge for mental strength and determination.
The challenges and victories in running reflect those challenges that happen to us in life – which require perseverance, endurance and achieving results step by step. The persistence helps the step to become more stable, more confident and after a while the running becomes easier.
Autism is a marathon, running on long and unpredictable paths full of obstacles and challenges. And among all the challenges, there is an unwavering force that teaches us endurance, patience and reveals to us the infinite capacity to love someone as they are. And every marathon is run easier with great support, cheering, encouragement. That way you know that you are not alone and that someone is rooting for you.
On the thirty-fifth anniversary of its existence, the Company Zegin, supported by the Foundation Dr. Verica Mehandziska decided to run precisely for these beautiful people living on the spectrum.
Thirty-five years – is not just a number but also countless stories woven into the Company Zegin. Every year filled with overcome challenges, celebrated victories, moments of uncertainty, brave decisions made and unwavering dedication of each individual who contributed to the growth of the company.
Thirty-five years Zegin has also been growing as a socially responsible company with serious deeds behind it that remain and last.
The humanitarian race “ZEGIN SPECTRATON – Race of Heroes in All Colors” showed us that we are not alone. Together kilometers were ran full of love and understanding, for the reconstruction of the first regional social club for adolescents with autism. And here there were no differences – side by side, everyone together, from the youngest to the oldest, ran with one goal – to break the finish line, which is a symbol of breaking down all barriers through community education and celebrating neurodiversity.
Statistics show that autism affects one in thirty-six children, and the stigmas these children and their families face still overshadow the incredible diversity and potential of people on the spectrum.
People with autism face barriers and discrimination in all segments of society – in the health and social care system, in the education system, in employment, etc. It is crucial that people with autism, as well as their families and caregivers, have unhindered access to tailored information, guidance and support to overcome these barriers and to receive opportunities to explore their interests, develop their skills and create friendships for a fulfilling life.
With this campaign, Zegin as a company wants to achieve the following goals:
- Raising awareness among the population about people with autism and ADHD
- Changing public awareness about the presence of people with autism and ADHD, their understanding and their inclusion in all social spheres
- Improving the conditions for a dignified life and smooth functioning of people with autism and ADHD
- Education for proper treatment and supplementation of people with autism and ADHD to make it easier to cope with their condition
- Support for their families
- Visible change in community attitudes towards acceptance and inclusion.
With this campaign, the Company Zegin, together with the Foundation Dr. Verica Mehandziska, opens the opportunity to raise awareness, educate and remind society that autism is not a limitation, but a different way of being. The campaign is a call for compassion, for inclusion and for recognizing the brilliance in what may seem like chaos.
Autism is not a puzzle to be solved, but a masterpiece to be appreciated. We need to keep space for its beauty, respect its challenges and fight for a future where every person on the spectrum will be seen, heard and accepted.
“That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow county. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama. And that’s what I did. I ran clear across Alabama.” — Forrest Gump
The brilliance of the character Forrest Gump in the film lies in his nuanced, multi-layered portrayal that challenges the audience to expand their perception of disabilities and diversity.
Thus, the Company Zegin and the Foundation Dr. Verica Mehandziska, recognizing the need to run more kilometers in order to expand the social perception of diversity, jointly rounded off the second phase of the Campaign dedicated to people with autism, which this year is the focus of Zegin as one of the largest socially responsible companies in our country, by organizing a large international congress dedicated to people with autism and ADHD.
Under the motto “Together for a Spectrum of Possibilities”, in the period from November 13-15, Skopje hosted doctors and experts in this field from our country and abroad (USA, Russia, Great Britain, Finland, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo).
With a rich three-day program and live broadcast of all three days, the Macedonian public had the opportunity to hear the presentations of top experts who selflessly shared their knowledge and experiences in front of a large audience that included a large number of professionals, associations and parents of children with ASD and ADHD, who in turn shared all the challenges they face in their everyday lives and gave us a closer look at what it is like to live on the spectrum.
The star of this congress was the little artist Filip Simonovski Ciglenjak, a child on the spectrum with an exceptional gift for painting, one of the people – the inspiration for holding the first International Congress for Autism and ADHD, who presented himself with his own solo exhibition of artistic paintings, which was completely sold out.
At the end of this Congress, Filip shouted to his father through tears of joy – “We did it!”
With this campaign, Zegin also managed to make a serious shift, a big, solid and confident step in the marathon that we all have yet to run together.