TIRANA – RYCO Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša met on Friday, 22 September, with Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana Mr Claus Neukirch. They discussed possibilities for the joint cooperation and agreed that the two institutions should work together in the forthcoming period.
At the meeting, Secretary General Mr Blanuša informed Mr Neukirch about ongoing RYCO activities and steps which are currently undertaken by the organization such as the strategic planning process and preparations for the first Open Call which will be launched in October 2017. He pointed out that a representative of Council of Europe’s Youth Department will have a secured place in RYCO Advisory Board which will be established in November 2017.
The both officials agreed that the CoE Youth Department has a valuable experience in programs for youth, as well as in the capacity building activities, which can help RYCO to make its programs better and more efficient. Co-management, combating hate speech, programmes for Roma youth in the region, youth mobility and social inclusion, etc. were mentioned as fields of mutual interests. Moreover, they concluded that the two institutions should start planning joint activities after the process of strategic planning is over which is expected to happen at the beginning of the next year.