SKOPJE – The second prize winner of the “Open Call for Young Designers: 2021 Western Balkans Berlin Summit Logo Competition” is a young designer from North Macedonia – Ms Herolinda Pollozhani. She received the prize at the German Embassy in Skopje on Tuesday, 15 June 2021. The prize was presented to the winner by Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in North Macedonia Mr Vladimir Gjorgjevski and German Ambassador to North Macedonia H.E. Ms Anke Holstein.
During the awarding ceremony, Ms Holstein expressed her satisfaction that the young people of the Western Balkans were taking part in the Berlin Process Summit implementation through the Open Call for Young Designers and added that she is, as a person who knows the region well, particularly happy to see the young people being active.
Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in North Macedonia said that he is happy for having the second prize winner from North Macedonia and underlined that young people can make a change in their society only if they are proactive.
The second prize winner Ms Pollozhani expressed her gratitude for receiving the prize and said that she is excited about the fact that the work of a young person is recognized on a high level such as the Berlin Process Summit is.
The logo competition was opened from 24 March to 7 April 2021 and invited young people (from 18 to 30 years old) from the Western Balkans to design the logo of this year’s Western Balkans Berlin Process Summit which will be hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel this summer.
Choosing the best design was not an easy task since almost 170 young designers submitted more than 300 entries to the competition. The selection committee composed of the Youth Representatives in the RYCO Governing Board accompanied by the validation of the German Government awarded the three best entries.
The Berlin Process was initiated by the German government to promote regional cooperation of the Western Balkans and support the EU’s enlargement policy. Its first summit was held on 28 August 2014 in Berlin. It was followed by summits in Vienna (2015), Paris (2016), Trieste (2017), London (2018), Poznan (2019) and Sofia (2020).
The Berlin Process fosters connectivity in the region, through economic cooperation but not only: One of the most tangible results of the Berlin Process is the establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO). The Agreement on the Establishment of RYCO was signed by the six Western Balkan Prime Ministers during the Paris Summit on 4 July 2016.