TIRANA – The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) hosted a visit from a delegation of youth actors from Albania and Serbia, on Wednesday, 20 October 2021, at the RYCO premises in Albania. The delegation was composed of representatives of the National Youth Congress (NYC) of Albania, National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS), the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Serbia , a representative of KOMS member organization, as well as representative of OPENS – Federation of Associations Novi Sad and representative of OSCE Mission to Serbia.
This meeting was part of the events organized within a four-day meet-up between KOMS, National Youth Congress of Albania, and youth stakeholders from Albania and Serbia intended to revitalize bilateral cooperation between them, to create a supportive environment for young people and improve comparative youth policy mechanisms.
The delegation from Albania and Serbia was welcomed by the RYCO Secretary General Mr Albert Hani and Head of RYCO Local Branch Office in Albania Mr Kreshnik Loka.
The need for stronger cooperation between young people from Serbia and Albania was recognized by youth organizations, and served as the key focus of discussions during the meeting. Youth actors present in the delegation, stated that they intend to further strengthen youth and regional cooperation in the following years by gathering all relevant interested parties that would outline and commit to long-term and sustainable cooperation.
In this regard, they affirmed that the role of RYCO and its Local Branch Offices in the region is of key importance in supporting and enabling a better environment for stronger cooperation and advocacy.
“RYCO will support initiatives that foster regional cooperation and give rise to new ideas that connect young people across the Western Balkans. Our work in the region has shown us that friendships and connections matter, that is why we intend to work together as friends and jointly implement new projects for youth” Mr Hani stated in his remarks.
During the four-days events, the Head of RYCO Local Branch Office in Albania and Head of RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia also participated in a panel discussion, where they shared the work of RYCO and their support towards the new initiatives and cooperation between youth actors from Albania and Serbia.
The meeting concluded that supporting dialogue and connectivity of youth from Albania and Serbia remains a key priority for advancing regional cooperation.
