BUDVA – Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Montenegro Mr Edin Koljenović participated in the opening session of the Regional Youth Meeting, which was organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) within the Western Balkan Youth Lab (WBYL) project. The meeting took place from 9 to 11 June, in Budva, Montenegro, and gathered 18 young representatives from the Western Balkans Six – 3 youth representatives from each party.
The opening of the meeting was also attended by Program Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro Ms Ana Mariquesa Lorentzen, Deputy Director of Directorate for Sports and Youth, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Montenegro Ms Ksenija Božović, and Political Advisor at RCC Ms Petra Balažič, under the moderation of Project Expert at RCC Mr Ognjen Marković.
Mr Koljenović used this chance to express his satisfaction and conveyed congratulations to the team that worked on the establishment of the umbrella youth organization – the Youth Network of Montenegro.
“This meeting is an excellent opportunity for the umbrella organizations from the entire region to network and to therefore contribute to creating opportunities for youth and building an enabling environment for their development,” Mr Koljenovic highlighted.
The key goal of the meeting was mirrored in strengthening regional youth cooperation by engaging national youth councils and youth organizations to help improve the environment for youth activism and participation as well as ensure networking opportunities for building regional partnerships through sharing experiences and information. Furthermore, the meeting provided the necessary spaces to also discuss on topics related to the Second Thematic Youth Policy Lab within the ongoing Youth Policy Lab on youth unemployment as well as to discuss Capacity Building interventions and the Mini-Mobility Scheme which will be deployed within the WBYL project.
One of the main outcomes of the meeting was the common agreement among national youth councils’ representatives who are aiming to join their efforts and establish stronger cooperation by signing a formal agreement soon.
© Photos: RCC