TIRANA – RYCO Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša participated in the opening ceremony of the Equal Rights Association’s regional conference Our Rights, Your Future, one of the biggest LGBTI+ events in the Balkans and Turkey. The conference which is taking place in Tirana from 7 – 9 November 2019 kicked off with the Trans Balkan exhibition opening on Wednesday night.
Addressing the participants, Mr Blanuša thanked ERA for letting RYCO supporting the activity thus allowing the organization to reach out to diverse groups of young people from the region.
“You will always have RYCO as a partner and supporter, but we also believe that we should have partners in you for making this region and Europe better,” the RYCO Secretary General pointed out.
RYCO’s mandate aims to open discussions on topics that are still taboo in the Western Balkans, taking into focus equal inclusion of all young people into its programs and projects. We believe that through the mandate and youth exchanges of RYCO, a very important backbone is the equal inclusion of all young people in the region. RYCO is also practicing a work culture where every young person has a fair chance despite its ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or social status.
Moreover, RYCO will be supporting the inclusion of LGBTI+ youth through its second Open Call for Project Proposals by funding a project coming from a consortium of LGBTI+ organizations from Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania, aiming to promote and support empowerment and sustainability of transgender movements in shaping public debates on democracy, human rights, social and economic inclusion.
The ERA conference brings together more than 160 participants coming from its membership, governments and human rights institutions, equality bodies, the international community, academia, media, allies, and supporters of the community.
The event is opened by welcoming speeches of RYCO Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša, Ombudsman for Human Rights of Albania Ms Erinda Ballanca, Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination of Albania Mr Robert Gajda, Head of Delegation of the European Union in Albania Mr Luigi Soreca, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Albania H.E. Mr Peter Zingraf, Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania, Executive Director of Western Balkans Fund (WBF) Mr Gjergj Murra and the author of the Trans Balkan exhibition Mr Aleksandar Crnogorac.