New Year’s gatherings are synonymous for good mood and a positive atmosphere, especially when you feel like everyone is eagerly waiting for you to share your stories with them, where your experiences are recognized and ideas accepted.
Today, such a story started from Sarajevo, as the central location, which connected Belgrade, Podgorica, Pristina, Skopje and Tirana. Towards 2022 and with the slogan Youth go Hajde!, young leaders, coming from six cities, commented on the usefulness of various RYCO programs they attended and exchanged experiences and ideas, while program mentors shared their views on these changes.
Yet the biggest reason for the online Meet Up Youth go Hajde!, organized by RYCO (Regional Office for Youth Cooperation) and supported by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was the launch of the hajde.media platform, which was developed with the contribution of 1,500 young people from the Western Balkans.
Lejla Turčilo, mentor within RYCO’s program said „Seeing these young people, their will and enthusiasm, esspecially in the health situation that is caused by COVID-19 was inspirational. These young people are professionals, they made great stories within the program that are now shared on the Hajde! platform. Youth should continue to do so and be proactive. You are the present and you are the best part of the RYCO.“
The platform Hajde! brings news about events in the region, opportunities for volunteering, employment, attending conferences and trainings. It is designed to contribute to the building of the youth as individuals and to the creation of regional networks of friendship and cooperation between young people.
Alen Gudalo, Project Coordinator at Catholic school center “Petar Barbarić” said „We created directed contact between three schools in Travnik, Kumanovo and Kikinda. Through our program, we managed to connect these local communities for the first time. In order to meet youth from the region we had to leave the region and meet them in Germany, Switzerland etc., but now, with RYCO, we can do it home.“
During the Meet Up, a short content of the platform was summarized. The youth platform “Hajde!” was launched on 8 December this year, during a regional meeting of youth and education ministers in Tirana. It is just a beginning of building up the platform that will serve as a great starting point for youth in the future.
„All youth are invited to be the soul of this platform, but it is not just about Hajde! as platform. It is about connecting us today, around New Year. Let us all be succesfull in the next year“, said Albert Hani, Secretary General of RYCO.
