SARAJEVO – The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) and the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 18 February, to enhance cooperation and mutual efforts in providing opportunities for youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans.
Even though RYCO and the SFF have been working together over the past years, the signing of the MoU is an important step for institutionalization of cooperation and joint work. In the upcoming period, this document will ensure that both parties can easily organize, implement and initiate activities for youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The SFF is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe and one of the largest in Europe. It was founded in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1992-1995 war and every year it brings international and local celebrities to Sarajevo.
RYCO, its Local Branch Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the SFF have been maintaining good relations and cooperation from the moment RYCO was founded. For two years in a row, RYCO was cooperating with the SFF on the program Dealing with the Past, where groups of young people from all RYCO Contracting Parties gathered and participated in.
RYCO and the SFF share the same values and principles for youth participation and empowerment. Both parties have been promoting and supporting active participation of youth in decision-making processes as well as strengthening the capacities of young people and other relevant stakeholders in the field of youth. Moreover, the SFF is a very important and relevant actor in the regional youth cooperation through culture, arts, cinema and activism.
The signed MoU affirms both RYCO’s and SFF’s commitment towards long-term cooperation and accomplishment of mutual goals focused on providing opportunities for youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. This year, the SFF will be held in August, where the two parties, more determined than ever, will arrange the preparations as well as the implementation of the film festival.
