WESTERN BALKANS – The tenth meeting of the RYCO Governing Board took place online on Monday, 26 October 2020. The meeting discussed the organization’s plans and activities with a special focus on the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chair of the RYCO Governing Board for 2020, recently appointed Director of Agency for Youth and Sport of North Macedonia, Mr Naumce Mojsovski opened the meeting and underlined that this is the first time the Governing Board is meeting in an online format due to the on-going pandemic.
Mr Mojskovski pointed out that in the new normality, the youth policies should be high on the reform agendas of the Western Balkan governments but also highlighted the necessity to strengthen the capacities of young people in the region. He said that the young people are now facing different challenges comparing to those they were facing before the coronavirus outbreak and pointed out that the youth who do not have access to digital tools are among the most vulnerable ones. The inclusive approach and the team spirit are key factors to be considered when dealing with the issues young people are facing Mr Mojskovski underlined and said that building the institutional capacities is contributing to building global peace.
RYCO Secretary General and RYCO Deputy Secretary General Mr Đuro Blanuša and Mr Fatos Mustafa, updated the Governing Board on the developments since the last meeting, outlining the political and COVID-19 related challenges. They also presented RYCO’s organizational and program efforts conducted in this period.
The Governing Board meeting also endorsed the Youth Representatives’ statement on the Western Balkan youth and COVID-19 crisis. The statement outlines several actions that the stakeholders in the region should consider when responding to the on-going crisis.
Throughout its work, the Governing Board continues to exercise its unique composition in decision-making processes by equally engaging the governments’ officials and the young people. It also ensures political support for strategic, operational and financial plans of RYCO from the Contracting Parties.
Background
RYCO’s unique governance system brings together government and civil society representatives to ensure young people are represented at all levels within the organisation.
The RYCO Governing Board is the organization’s highest decision-making authority. It is composed of two representatives from each Contracting Party: one government representative in direct charge of youth policy, and one youth representative. The youth representatives are no younger than 18, and no older than 30 years of age at the start of their mandate. They serve a mandate of three years, with no possibility of extension. Each Contracting Party selects a youth representative using its mechanisms in a transparent, inclusive and democratic manner and close cooperation with civil society dealing with youth. Decisions of the Governing Board are taken by consensus.