TIRANA –RYCO and World Vision Albania signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday to enhance cooperation between the two organizations focused on young people in the Western Balkans. The ceremony took place in the presence of organizations’ employees at the RYCO Head Office in Tirana.
The signing of the document is an important step forward for stepping up relations between RYCO and World Vision. It will serve as a basis for developing and implementing joint activities in the upcoming period while the first one – a youth festival in Tirana – is planned to be implemented during the first week of September.
“The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is a continuation and formalization of an already good partnership between RYCO and World Vision,” RYCO Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša said and added that the World Vision Albania is a credible partner in empowering young people of the Western Balkans. “We are already making this cooperation fruitful by jointly organizing the upcoming Youth Festival,” Mr Blanuša concluded.
“If we do not sufficiently leverage good partnerships in the region such as the one between RYCO and World Vision, I am afraid that we are going to continue witnessing the unfortunate trend of young people leaving the region,” World Vision Albania National Director Ms Eliona Boçe Elmazi said. She added that the organization she is leading is focusing on long-term work with young people by following their development in the course of a couple of years.
RYCO and World Vision will jointly organize a youth festival aiming to create an interactive platform with the participation of high governmental representatives, donors, INGOs, children and young people from the region to discuss and promote the topics such as participation, protection, employment and entrepreneurship. The Youth Festival’s slogan is “YouthUP” which is a call to action – to make political institutions and processes more youth-friendly by including youth in all aspects and stages of policy and decision-making.
