TIRANA – RYCO Secretary General Albert Hani and Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tirana Thilo Schroeter signed Agreement for the project “RYCOGNIZED YPS Advocacy Efforts in WB6”. This project, implemented by RYCO and funded byGerman Ministry of Foreign Affairs (GMFA) is the continuation of our successful cooperation and partnership.
Project with an interesting name contributes to the continuation of the WB Youth Berlin Declaration as a key document for voicing youth concerns, as well as to the strengthening of RYCO as a regional actor in facilitating such youth voices to be heard. Moreover, it serves to enhance RYCO’s advocacy efforts and institutional capacities in the Youth Peace and Security (YPS) Agenda in the region.
Through this project RYCO aims to establish a knowledge-production and knowledge-management platform for informed and evidence-based decision-making and advocacy for youth peace and security in the Western Balkans. Acknowledging the lack of information on youth peace and security in the region, as well as the lack of a regional perspective of such a topic, RYCO will implement an awareness campaign and incentivise youth actions or events on YPS.
The implementation of RYCOGNIZED project foresees the undertaking of a research on youth perspectives on security and regional cooperation, numerous local activities on YPS in each of the RYCO contracting parties, the organisation of a WB Youth Forum under the framework of the Berlin Process Summit in Tirana and several high level advocacy events such as a Ministerial Meeting on Youth. The project supports RYCO’s effort to create an enabling environment in the Western Balkans for peacebuilding, regional youth cooperation, and improving the position of youth.