ALBANIA – The RYCO Local Branch Office in Albania, in the framework of the project ‘Youth Voices for Stronger Communities’, organized its first workshop in Berat, on 29 June 2022.
This workshop brought together around thirty young people, NGOs working with and for youth, and the Director of Education, Culture and Youth at the Municipality of Berat aiming to promote youth participation and vitalize the spirit of activism among youth, starting from the local to the regional level with a special focus on girls and non-majority youth.
Through an interactive workshop, young people had the opportunity to gain knowledge and practical tools on how to become more engaged in their community and increase their participation in the process of designing youth programs and policies. Moreover, they were introduced to the various opportunities offered by RYCO.
Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Albania Mr Kreshnik Loka, shared with the participants the available opportunities offered by RYCO through its volunteering, social entrepreneurship, and high school exchange scheme prorgrams. “More than 1000 activities were organized with the support of RYCO in the region of WB6, during the period 2018-2021,” Mr. Loka emphasized and reminded the young audience of the positive impact of the RYCO Governing Board in which young people are represented equally together with Ministers of Youth of the region.
In this regard, the young people had an open discussion with Ms Françeska Muço, Youth Representative in the RYCO Governing Board, who shared with the young people her experience in community engagement and civil society activism. She encouraged young people to participate in youth exchanges in addition to their studies, as a way to explore their inner talent, gain new skills, and strengthen their networking.
The “Youth Voices for Stronger Community” project is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented by RYCO LBO in Albania in the period of May – September 2022. This project is implemented under the framework of Tirana European Youth Capital 2022. The workshop in Berat was the first of six meetings that will take place in six diverse municipalities (Berat, Pukë, Kukës, Krujë, Gjirokastër, Sarandë) in Albania gathering young people, NGOs working with and for youth and youth focal points in the respective municipalities to enable youth participation. This initiative reflects and meets the perceptions of youth in Albania and supports them with knowledge and tools to become proactive citizens and increase their participation in the local and regional context.
The next workshop will be held on 14 July 2022, with the youth from Puka at the Puka Youth Center.
Background
On the project
RYCO is implementing the project “EU – Western Balkan – Student Integration (EU-WB-SI!)”, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The project’s aim is to support the integration of WB6 students into the European Union Programs through the creation and development of branches of famous European students’ organizations in the Western Balkan Contracting Parties. This project will support six networks throughout the region, each network will be composed of six student organizations with an overall amount of 36 student organizations from the WB6.