On 6 November 2025, RYCO successfully held the Online Regional Training for the grantees of the “RYCOgnizing YPS – Meaningful Youth Participation in the Western Balkans” project, implemented with the support of the German Cooperation.
The training gathered 13 representatives from seven civil society organizations across the Western Balkans, marking the official beginning of the implementation phase for the first regional Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) granting scheme. Regional training was organized to facilitate and ensure that all grantees are fully equipped with skills and knowledge to launch their initiatives aimed at empowering young people, fostering peace, and creating an impact in the local communities.
Training sessions provided practical guidance on the grant management framework, financial and narrative reporting procedures, communication and visibility guidelines, and monitoring and evaluation standards. Participants also explored approaches for integrating meaningful youth participation into every stage of project implementation, ensuring alignment with the YPS pillars and with RYCO’s broader mission to strengthen peacebuilding, cooperation, and youth engagement in the region.
Additionally, by supporting civil society organizations and young people, RYCO, once again reaffirms its strategic focus on Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda, enabling young people to actively contribute to shaping their communities.
Launched in March 2025, the initiative was followed by a regional Open Call that attracted 91 project proposals and more than 122 partnering organizations and local authorities from across the Western Balkans, confirming the strong need for opportunities that empower young people to shape inclusive and resilient communities. Selected grantees in this highly competitive call now move into implementation phase, and RYCO is eager to see their ideas translate into meaningful local impact across the region.
