PRISTINA – The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) signed a contract with NGO Lady on Thursday, 25 February, within the framework of the 4th RYCO Open Call for Project Proposals supported by the European Union. The signing ceremony took place in Pristina and was attended by representatives of RYCO, the European Union Office in Kosovo and the awarded RYCO beneficiary.
The awarded project in Kosovo will bring together youth from Kosovo and Serbia and provide them with an opportunity to enhance their skills and employability opportunities through tailor-made training sessions on soft and technical skills. NGO Lady is partnering with “Children’s Center: The Little Prince” (Udruženje građana Dečiji centar “Mali Princ”) from Serbia in efforts to help youth overcome obstacles to reconciliation and cooperation. Upon the project completion, ten best innovative project ideas proposed by the participants in their different fields of interest will be awarded and supported further by the partner organizations.
During the contract signing ceremony, the welcoming remarks were delivered by Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Kosovo Krenare Gashi-Krasniqi and EU Office Program Manager Mr Stergios Tragoudas.
In his opening remarks, Mr Tragoudas congratulated the beneficiary on the awarded grant and expressed his belief that the project will add great value to empowering and connecting youth from Kosovo and Serbia.
“The European Union in Kosovo has been investing in education, employment and regional cooperation. We are pleased to have great partners such as RYCO and to support together initiatives which are complementary. Through this cooperation we can support further synergies, which are crucial for the development of Kosovo and of the region overall,” Mr Tragoudas underlined.
“NGO Lady can count on the support of RYCO and our Local Branch Office in Pristina. We will support you in all possible ways and help you promote your project in order to maximize its impact,” Ms Gashi-Krasniqi added.
In continuation, Executive Director of NGO Lady Ms Sanija Murati, took the opportunity to present the project and highlight its innovative approach to supporting youth develop their skills and implement their ideas even in times of a pandemic.
“We are working with vulnerable women and youth and aim to create new synergies in the region with our partners, by including and empowering young women to develop their full potential,” Ms Murati emphasized.
The projects supported within the 4th RYCO Open Call, which is financially supported by the European Union, are being implemented from February to October 2021, fostering reconciliation and regional youth cooperation, as well as strengthening the capacities of the civil society to adapt to the COVID-19 environment. Throughout the implementation of this call, innovative projects will provide youth in the region with new spaces for dialogue and engagement.
RYCO believes that it is of crucial importance to maintain youth cooperation and reconciliation momentum even in times of crisis. During the application phase, 129 applications were received which brought about 400 partnerships from the region. The overall financial envelope for the Call was 333,000 Euro.
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*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.