The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), in cooperation with the Union of Secondary School Students of Serbia (UNSS), successfully organized a Capacity Building Training (CBT) for high school students within the Superschools program. Superschools, is RYCO’s flagship EU-funded initiative, implemented in partnership with GIZ, co-funded by the European Union and German Government.
The training was organized in three modules. It began with an introductory online session in early October 2025, where participants discussed the basics of youth participation and the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. The second part, a three-day in-person workshop held in Vrnjačka Banja from 19 to 21 October 2025, brought together young people from all over Serbia to learn through direct interaction and practice. The program concluded with a final online wrap-up session, where participants reflected on their learning, shared experiences, and discussed how to apply their new skills in their own schools and local communities.
The sessions were led by Miljana Pejić and Elizabeta Jagica , who guided participants through an engaging learning process filled with creativity, dialogue, and teamwork.
Through interactive workshops, role plays, reflection circles, and group facilitation exercises, students explored how youth can contribute to peacebuilding and reconciliation in their communities. The focus was on building soft skills such as communication, empathy, leadership, and active listening, while connecting them to the real-world challenges young people face in the Western Balkans today.
The training was not only about learning — it was also about connecting. Participants shared their stories, exchanged ideas, and found inspiration in each other’s experiences. For many of them, this was their first time leading short facilitation activities and expressing their perspectives on how peace begins in schools and local communities.
- “This training showed me that peace starts with us — with how we treat each other every day,” said one participant.
- “It gave me the confidence to speak up and take initiative in my school.”
The Capacity Building Training encouraged young participants to become peer trainers and active promoters of dialogue, inclusion, and cooperation, setting the foundation for a new generation of youth leaders who will continue spreading these values through the Superschools network.
RYCO and UNSS will continue to work together to provide more opportunities for young people to learn, connect, and take action, because empowered youth are the key to building a peaceful and united Western Balkans.