BERLIN – In a close cooperation with CrossBorder Factory and the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, we organized the first preparation meeting within the program Supporting Regional Cooperation – Role of RYCO Governing Board. The event that took place on 17-18 June in Berlin, Germany gathered the Youth Representatives in the RYCO Governing Board. It aimed to empower the role of Youth Representatives in the RYCO’s highest decision-making body as unified voice of the Western Balkan youth.
Additionally, it aimed to identify meanings of political thinking and acting and how to translate them into concrete terms in the work of RYCO in order to improve the regional cooperation. On the other hand, the event is a continuation of the joint seminar for youth representatives that was organized in Ljubljana and Trieste in summer 2017 that contributed greatly to defining their role in the RYCO Governing Board and facing structural challenges.
This meeting was an opportunity for the Youth Representatives to discuss the future steps and actions needed to be undertaken within the region in cooperation with other stakeholders in order to enhance the idea of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. Therefore, the meeting was divided into the two main dimensions. The first served as a platform for discussing the political meaning of the regional cooperation in general and the second to discuss the specific role of the Youth Representatives in fostering the idea of regional cooperation.