Kosovo: World Vision will implement a new EU youth project
Pristina – As Kosovo readies for integration into the European Union over the coming months and years; children and youth from 10 municipalities across the country will have the opportunity to also be involved in the process and the ability to help shape their country’s future.
On March, 28, 2013, the project: "Capacity and Youth Action for Change" was presented by World Vision in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital city. The two-year project, funded by the European Union and Austrian Development Cooperation, which aims to strengthen the impact of youth in the social and economic development of the country by giving them voice and the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making and the development of new policies, will be implemented by World Vision.
"In the end of the implementation, we hope to sit again together with all of you to celebrate the achievements of our joint effort,” said Rein Dekker, National Director of World Vision in Albania and Kosovo.“By then, we aim to have at least 10 Local Youth Action Councils fully established,[with each one being] well-organized and highly motivated to continue advocating for their rights to local government, [that the participants are] deeply engaged in developing good inter-communal relationships, and they have developed an open culture of debate and critical thinking among their peers and society."
To achieve these desired outcomes, World Vision will cooperate closely with other organizations, including: Students Helping Life - Kosovo (SHL-K); the Center for Peace and Tolerance (CPT), and the Central Kosovo Youth Action Council (whose members are also representatives of Local Youth Councils). The project will rely on 10 local youth councils in:Rahovec, Malisheva, Mamushe, Kline, Pec, Gracanica, Lipjan, Novoberda, Ferizaj and Vushtri.Additionally, there will be 100 members of civil society working together with 10 directors of culture, youth, and sports. These individuals will train the youth in social media and communication processes as well as will provide insights on project management, among other things, in order to help the them raise their voices and propose ideas for a civilized integration of their country into the European Union.
“Kosovo has a favorable legal framework for youth, but the need for improvements is also evident,” said Mensur Morina, the president of the Central Kosovo Youth Action Council.“The beneficiary of this project will be 10 Kosovo municipalities which are in need of youth capacity building and strengthening, in order they play their role.”
World Vision has been working alongside communities in Kosovo since 1998, through community development programs. One of the on-going and most successful programs in Kosovo is a peace-building program called Kids for Peace.
World Vision leaders are sure this project will be equally successful. Talking about the Kids for Peace program Dekker shares a recent example of success. “[The] 21st September is the International Day of Peace, celebrated in many countries. It got a special significance in the school of Rubovc [this year]. This is a village in Kosovo of mixed ethnicities, with a common primary school.
“But, appearances can be deceiving. Although Albanian and Serbian children study under one roof, children enter through separate gates and attend separate classes. They do not greet each other and the common school yard has an invisible line that is never crossed.On this day, last September, 50 Albanian and Serbian children from this school and from other villages nearby, all members of the Kids for Peace club, broke the rules. They worked together. They crossed the lines in the school yard and entered each other’s classes. [Their actions] touched the hearts of many parents who declared they supported their children,” he shared.
Dekker concluded by reiterating his and the organization’s excitement to launch another project in which Albanian and Serbian youth will be directly participating and building the future for their country, together.