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Author: WeBalkans

Olta Shehu

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA of the month.

YEA of the Month August 2022

Olta es una chica de 19 años que sueña con convertirse algún día en una exitosa doctora que salve vidas. Ella viene de Albania y ya ha hecho mucho por la mayor voz de los jóvenes en su comunidad. Es franca y motivada, ansiosa por participar en cada actividad que tenga como objetivo hacer de la región un lugar más próspero para la juventud.

Incluso cuando era más joven se unió a Save the Children y World Vision como voluntaria, pero también a una organización benéfica llamada “Fundjave Ndryshe” y una organización ambiental llamada “Shqiperia Ndryshe”. También fue la representante de su salón de clases durante tres años seguidos en el senado escolar.

Conozca a Olta a través de sus redes sociales para obtener más información sobre lo que significa ser un modelo a seguir. ¡YEA!

YEAs join Western Balkans Digital Summit in Kosovo

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Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) joined the fifth annual Western Balkans Digital Summit which took place in Prishtina, hosted by the Ministry of Economy in Kosovo. The summit aims to support the transition of the region to a digital economy bringing the benefits of digital transformation, such as faster economic growth, more jobs, and improved services.

 

YEA Jora Zeneli represented the network by giving the welcoming speech at the opening ceremony of the summit. She concluded her speech with the message “We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future!”

 

At the Digital Assembly in Bulgaria in 2018, the European Commission launched the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans. Part of the agenda is organising the Western Balkans Digital Summit in a different capital each year.

YEAs join European Sports Week activities in Serbia

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On 24 September, Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from Serbia, Anja Kafedziska and Maja Trajković, participated in the Diplomats for Children football tournament which was organised by the EU Delegation to Serbia as part of the European Sports Week activities. The tournament included more then 20 teams made up of the representatives of EU Member State embassies and international organisations. The tournament was a charity event with the purpose of collecting funds for purchasing additional equipment for monitoring new-born babies at the Tirsova 2 children’s hospital.

 

Every year from 23 to 30 September, the European Week of Sport promotes more active, healthier lifestyles to millions of people in Europe and beyond. Launched in 2015 to respond to the growing crisis of inactivity, the week improves awareness of the importance of an active lifestyle for everyone.

YEAs join EU beach clean-up activity in Montenegro

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Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) in Montenegro joined the Europe House Podgorica team who organised the Ribnica river clean-up as part of this year’s EU Beach Clean-up Day. The Ribnica river runs through the centre of Podgorica and the action was joined by representatives of the embassies of EU countries and the Head of EU Delegation in Montenegro, Cristina Oana Popa.

 

The EU Beach Clean-Up campaign is a global initiative to protect the ocean, co-organised by the EU and the UN, together with the Smurfs. The event takes place every September around World Coastal Clean-Up Day, and is important for awareness-raising around environmental issues. In 2022, the fifth edition of the EU Beach Clean-Up campaign targets youth under the European Year of Youth umbrella. Within the overarching theme, “United against marine litter”, the next generation are working hand-in-hand with international organisations, national leaders, and NGOs to combat this problem.

EU supports fashion show in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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“Connected through good” is the key message that marked the Banja Luka fashion show entitled #MadeInBiH, organised on 22 September by the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina in collaboration with the European Fashion Passport festival.  
The event gathered and connected people from the fashion and textile industry who have developed or launched their own businesses in BiH with the support of the European Union. The companies represented came from Kostajnica, Laktaši, Maglaj, Sarajevo, and Zenica.  
Through the EU4BusinessRecovery project, the European Union has ensured grants totalling €1.3 million euros for 29 local companies in the textile, clothing, leather and footwear production sector. The fashion show also gathered a number of renowned representatives of the business, academic and international community, as well as representatives from civil society, the arts, culture and sports from Banja Luka and the vicinity.  
The European Union’s EU4BusinessRecovery project, which is implemented by the International Labour Organisation in BiH, aims to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural and tourism enterprises, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the metal and wood processing sector, and in the textile, clothing and footwear sector, as well as on entrepreneurs and farmers.

EU Civil Society Survey for the Western Balkans and Turkey

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On behalf of the European Commission’s DG NEAR (the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations) the EU TACSO (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations) 3 project has published the link to the annual Civil Society Survey for the Western Balkans and Turkey. The survey is part of the assessment against the revised DG NEAR Guidelines for EU Support to Civil Society 2021-2027.

 

The survey is open to all civil society organisations, both formal and informal. It is the largest survey of its kind, and will provide comprehensive data for assessing the state of the enabling environment for civil society, understanding the extent of cooperation between governments and civil society, understanding the situation facing civil society organisations, and planning support for civil society in the region.

 

The survey will close on 11 October.

EU-funded projects launch a new call for proposals in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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The EU4AGRI, EU4AGRI-Recovery and EU4BusinessRecovery projects have launched a public call for grants under a support measure to mitigate the negative impact of market disturbances and climate change in primary agricultural production.

 

The call aims to tackle the negative disruption to the market for raw materials in 2022 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It also aims to help mitigate the effects of climate change on BiH’s agricultural and food sector, optimising operating costs, maintaining the productivity, liquidity and competitiveness of the country’s agricultural and food sector, and supporting the stabilisation of existing value chains from primary production to processing and product marketing.

 

This intervention support measure includes financial support for the procurement of mineral fertilisers, irrigation and sprinkling systems, including procurement of shading systems.

 

The call is open to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, craftspeople, entrepreneurs and cooperatives with an established network of subcontractors/ individual agricultural producers engaged in production, processing, purchase, storage and/or marketing of fresh agricultural and ready-made food products.

New Frontex operational cooperation with North Macedonia

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On 23 September the Commission proposed the signing of an agreement between the EU and North Macedonia on Frontex’s operational activities. The proposals put forward by the Commission will strengthen Frontex’s capacity in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood, helping North Macedonian authorities to manage irregular migration, fight smuggling, and enhance security at the EU’s external borders. In line with the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, the status agreement with North Macedonia will include strong provisions for the protection of fundamental rights and compliance monitoring.

 

The dialogue on this status agreement started in 2018. Other status agreements have been signed with partner countries in the Western Balkans: with Albania in October 2018, Montenegro in October 2019, and Serbia in November 2019.  A similar status agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina is under negotiation.

YEAs participate in EuroPride 2022 Week activities in Serbia

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The EuroPride 2022 Week that took place this month in Belgrade started with the opening session of the international human rights conference that was attended also by Serbia’s YEAs Adrijana Nikitović, Dimitrije Prokopović, Dragana Grahovac, Teodora Cekić, and Velimir Milošev.

 

YEAs also attended other sessions of the conference including; Western Balkans vs. the EU: Ways of Tackling Discrimination through Institutional Mechanisms, The Significance of Pride for Equality in the Balkans, The role of Legislators working on equality in Central and Eastern Europe, and the closing ceremony.

 

Apart from the conference, YEA also joined the Pride March that was organised on 17 September. The march gathered numerous activists, diplomats, and citizens from the region, the EU and outside Europe who danced, sang and celebrated in the rhythm of rainbow colours. Participants were all united around the message that LGBTI rights are human rights, that the fight for equality is not over yet, and that they will continue walking towards their goal – a world that understands that love is love. The Pride March showed solidarity with the community, and proved that they will never walk alone.

YEA participates in “Increasing youth participation in political and decision-making processes” panel discussion in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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On 21 September, the Office of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina held a panel discussion in Banja Luka entitled: “Increasing youth participation in political and decision-making processes”. The discussion, which is part of the campaign “It All Starts with a Choice”, raised numerous topical issues such as how to motivate young voters to go out and vote, how to encourage their participation in other political processes, and questioning whether there is trust in the election process.

 

The panel included a Young European Ambassador (YEA) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Anastasija Katić. “At the event, I had the opportunity to meet people from whom I could learn something new. Since this was the first panel discussion in which I actively participated, I can say now that I have more experience in that area. What I was glad to see was that the audience, especially young people, participated in the conversation and were quite active,” said Anastasija after the event.

 

As one of the most significant partners of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the democratisation of society, the European Union has been providing support in empowering the election system for years by training citizens, and strengthening institutional capacities. More information on the campaign “It All Starts with a Choice” is available at: www.svepocinjeizborom.europa.ba.