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Author: WeBalkans

Daria Jevtić

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Serbia Interests:

Daria is a master’s student at the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Cultural Management at the University of Arts in Belgrade. She graduated in 2023 from the Faculty of Applied Arts, where she majored in applied sculpture. Alongside her studies, she has worked as an art educator, illustrator, and designer, with additional interests in event management, intercultural exchange, and project development.

She has been actively engaged in youth and student festivals in Serbia, taking on roles from volunteer to organizer, and since 2024 has been part of the organizing team of the Youth Biennale. Passionate about arts and culture, Daria is committed to supporting young artists in building their careers and contributing to the development of stronger cultural and youth policies. Through the Young European Ambassadors network, she hopes to foster regional and international connections, promote cultural diversity, and empower the voices of young people and young artists.

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Daniel Bliznakoski

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: North Macedonia Interests:

Daniel recently graduated from medical school and is now a general doctor. During his studies, he participated in several Erasmus programs, including internships in Istanbul, Türkiye and Varese, Italy, a semester in Constanța, Romania, and short projects in Spain, Latvia, and Greece. These experiences allowed him to broaden his knowledge, gain new perspectives, and connect with peers from across Europe.

His main areas of interest include health and wellbeing, with a particular focus on mental health, physical activity, and healthy habits, as well as human rights. Motivated by his belief in the power of youth collaboration, Daniel joined the Young European Ambassadors network to share knowledge, gain new experiences, and inspire young people to be curious, open-minded, and active in shaping a healthier and more connected Europe.

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Branko Danilović

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Montenegro Interests:

Branko completed both his undergraduate and master’s studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro, specializing in International Relations. Diplomacy is his principal passion, and he is committed to continuous personal and professional development through academic research, lifelong learning, and practical experience.

He previously served as a member of the Political Science Students’ Union, where he led the PR department and fostered cooperation with Montenegrin state institutions, foreign embassies, and international organizations accredited in Podgorica. Branko has gained experience working in the Office of the President of Montenegro and is currently undertaking an internship with the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Podgorica.

Believing that diplomacy and cooperation are key pillars of peace and prosperity, Branko strives to build bridges of trust, promote cultural diversity, and contribute to a more connected and inclusive region.

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Bjant Çami

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Albania Interests:

Bjant recently graduated in Robotics and Intelligent Systems from Constructor University in Bremen, Germany. Passionate about technology, youth engagement, and environmental protection, he has participated in both local and international projects, from leading community initiatives in Albania to taking part in European programs on democracy, migration, and inclusion.

Convinced that young people can drive meaningful change when working together, Bjant joined the Young European Ambassadors network to connect youth from the Western Balkans and the EU, exchange ideas, and inspire action in their communities. He is eager to contribute his experience, energy, and creativity to building a more inclusive and sustainable future.

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Anja Radulović

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Montenegro Interests:

Anja Radulović is a final-year Master of Law student from Podgorica, Montenegro, with a strong focus on arbitration, EU law, and regulatory compliance. She has gained practical experience through internships in the judiciary, public administration, and the Ministry of European Affairs, where she worked on legal drafting, litigation, and European integration processes, including EU accession negotiations and cross-border cooperation projects.

Alongside her legal background, Anja has also worked in hospitality and marketing, strengthening her communication, adaptability, and public speaking skills. Passionate about regional cooperation and European values, she joined the Young European Ambassadors network to connect Montenegro’s youth with peers across the Western Balkans, raise awareness on EU integration, and contribute to building more inclusive and engaged communities.

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Anisa Doci

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Albania Interests:

Anisa Doci holds a Master of Science in Applied Informatics and has a strong background in Software Engineering. She has gained professional experience in both academia and the telecom sector, working as a System Operations Specialist at One Albania Telecom and as an IT Specialist and Lecturer at Barleti University, where she taught courses in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision. Her expertise includes data science, AI, machine learning, and IT operations, with projects ranging from fraud detection and database management systems to medical imaging solutions.

Driven by her passion for innovation, technology, and youth empowerment, Anisa joined the Young European Ambassadors network to highlight the role of young professionals in shaping inclusive and sustainable futures. Through this platform, she aims to connect technology with community development, foster intercultural dialogue, and amplify youth voices across Europe and beyond.

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Aldo Vlahovljak

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA.

Country: Montenegro Interests:

Aldo Vlahovljak holds a Master of Arts in Philology and Translation from the University of Donja Gorica. Passionate about international relations, security, and public policy, he has actively contributed to initiatives promoting democratic values and informed civic dialogue. As an intern at the Atlantic Council of Montenegro, he worked on geopolitical analyses, supported security and governance projects, and assisted in the organization of the 2BS Forum 2024 and the NATO Youth Summit 2025. In addition, Aldo gained experience at the Parliament of Montenegro, where he drafted briefing reports, conducted research, and took part in committee and board meetings. He is currently a member of YATA Montenegro.

He has authored and published policy briefs addressing the digital transformation of higher education as well as digital and media literacy in Montenegro. Beyond his professional work, Aldo is dedicated to community service and creative pursuits, balancing his time as a volunteer firefighter, teacher, hobby musician, and writer. Motivated by a vision of the Western Balkans in the European Union, he joined the Young European Ambassadors Network to exchange ideas with peers, foster connections across the region, and amplify EU values.

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Street art without borders: EU Support helps artists from Sarajevo and Pristina connect

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

Q’art and Obojena Klapa share many things in common, but their strongest bond is their love for street art.

Q’art is one of Kosovo’s most reputable organizations in promoting street art and improving the urban landscape in a sustainable manner. They use art as a tool to improve life and public spaces, school premises, and playgrounds—or, as they put it, “to improve anything that can be improved through street art.”

Obojena Klapa (Painted Slate), founded in 2016 in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), was created to promote and advocate for the affirmation of street art within BiH society. Their mission, in their own words, is to “paint all old, grey and sad walls and renew all ramshackle facades in Sarajevo, enriching them with our artistic expression.”

Recently, these two organizations—bound by their mutual passion for street art—came together to pursue another meaningful goal: strengthening the cultural landscapes of the Western Balkans by promoting collaboration between regional festivals and facilitating cultural exchanges.

“For us at Obojena Klapa, Balkan Art Fusion felt like a natural continuation of what we’ve been doing for years—connecting people through art, working in public space, and creating room for dialogue and learning. It was important to us that our young artists had the chance to step outside their everyday surroundings, meet peers from other cities, and create something lasting together. And that really happened. Everything flowed naturally, without pressure, but with a lot of focus and mutual respect. Projects like this give us a real boost—because you can see that what you’re doing matters, both for the community and for each individual involved,” say the representatives of Obojena Klapa about the impact of projects like Balkan Art Fusion and how they align with the organization’s broader mission.

Balkan Art Fusion: Bridging Cultures through Urban Expression is a joint initiative led by these two organizations and supported by the British Council. Balkan Art Fusion is part of the Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans(CC4WBs) project funded by the European Union. CC4WBs aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact. Balkan Art Fusion is structured around four key activities that collectively promote local creativity and cultural entrepreneurship through art workshops, exhibitions, and residencies.

“From the very beginning, I felt like part of the crew. It wasn’t just about getting the work done. The atmosphere really made a difference. We worked with focus, but also shared laughs, exchanged experiences, and learned from each other. There was a genuine flow of ideas, without pressure, just positive energy that kept us motivated. What stood out the most were the honest conversations about art, our personal journeys, and why we do what we do. That kind of experience doesn’t just stay in your memory—it shifts how you approach your work going forward,” says Rijad from Sarajevo, one of the participants in the Creative Bridges workshops.

The Creative Bridges series is one of the project’s main activities, designed to connect artists and organizations from Pristina, Sarajevo, and abroad. These workshops foster peer learning, live art creation, digital illustration, and cultural dialogue.

When asked about his experience working with street artists from Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tizer—the British-American graffiti artist known for his blend of graffiti and character-based street art, active on the London scene since the late ’80s and one of the Creative Bridges workshop leaders in Pristina—said: “It was a great pleasure for me to see that up-and-coming talent with the younger artists from Pristina and Sarajevo and their ideas and abilities to produce their ideas on such a large scale in a limited time. It was great working with such talented artists and comparing thoughts to complete this commission.”

The Artistic Transformation art residency in Pristina offers a platform for experienced and emerging artists to collaborate in creating new artworks, developing skills, and translating urban culture into the creative industry.

Meanwhile, Balkan Urban Canvas is a joint street art showcase taking place in both Pristina and Sarajevo. It celebrates the evolution of Balkan street art and features curated artworks, urban tourism products, and related publications.

Altin Ibrahimi, a visual artist from Kosovo who has been part of many of Q’art’s activities, says that the print workshop in which he participated gave him the opportunity to socialize with artists from different countries, share their experiences, and also collaborate on creating illustrations that will be used for printing.

Many project participants share the sentiment that their involvement in the Balkan Art Fusion activities helped them clarify what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Among other things, the project gave participants from both Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina the opportunity to experience the cities of Pristina and Sarajevo through their shared language—street art—and, in doing so, understand the cultural and social similarities between the two countries.

100 schools from the region are becoming Superschools

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) has announced that 100 secondary schools from the Western Balkans are selected to participate in the RYCO Superschools exchange programme. The selected schools from the region will implement regional exchanges including more than 1400 students, while RYCO will offer various capacity-building opportunities for 200 teachers. Among these 100 schools: 17 are coming from Albania, 20 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 11 from Kosovo, 9 from Montenegro, 23 from North Macedonia and 20 from Serbia. The 4th Superschools Open Call received over 100 proposals, resulting in 50 selected school partnerships across the Western Balkans. Of these, 37 partnerships were established under LOT 1 (newly founded) and 13 under LOT 2 (supporting the sustainability of existing collaborations). All projects aim to advance peacebuilding and reconciliation while fostering intercultural learning among students and communities. This year, a special focus is placed on the homestays component, which will be implemented by the 13 LOT 2 partnerships, offering students the chance to experience bilateral exchanges within local families and communities. The implementation of the two exchanges in two local communities of schools involved in single Superschools project, will happen from November 15, 2025 to April 15, 2026. Each partner school will organize one exchange visit to the partnering one lasting up to 6 days with a group of up to 15 students and 1-2 teachers. Besides two exchanges, each school will organize local outreach activity to spread information about the benefits of such projects, importance of non-formal education, youth activism and regional cooperation, etc. Overall, 100 local outreach activities, gathering more than 1800 participants, will take place throughout the region in the abovementioned period. Through the exchange scheme, students and teachers will have the chance to travel, present themselves, their schools and customs to their hosts and learn new things about local communities all throughout the region. Following the official announcement of the winning schools for the Superschools Program, a series of “Meet the Superschools” high-level events will take place in each capital of the Western Balkans Six (WB6) throughout September 2025.   The “Meet the Superschools” events (in chronological order) will be held as follows:
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina – Sarajevo, 2 September 2025
  • Montenegro – Podgorica, 4 September 2025
  • Albania – Tirana, 11 September 2025
  • North Macedonia – Skopje, 23 September 2025
  • Serbia – Belgrade, 26 September 2025 at 12:00, Hotel Moskva
  • Kosovo – Pristina, 29 September 2025
  Background About the RYCO Superschools programme RYCO Superschools is a programme for school exchanges in WB6 with the objectives to support the peacebuilding and reconciliation process and intercultural learning and dialogue among schools, students and their communities. The programme is part of a multi donor project, co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with the RY

Sarajevo Film Festival: Where the Western Balkans Meet the World

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA Blogs.

By Teodora Ružić, Young European Ambassador, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival once again shed light on the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the entire region. Being at the Festival myself, I gained insight into what it truly means to be part of this beautiful event, and I’d love to share my experience.

Thanks to WeBalkans, I had the amazing opportunity to take part in the Dealing with the Past program at SFF. For five days, I was able to breathe in the Festival’s atmosphere of fame and knowledge, surrounded by some of the best in the film industry. Watching films from around the world and then having discussions and Q&A sessions with the directors and producers themselves gave me both inspiration for the path I want to follow in life and an invaluable opportunity to connect and learn.

Each day, we watched between one and three films, and all of them were truly extraordinary. If I were to describe each of them in detail, we’d probably be waiting for the 32nd SFF to begin before I finished. So instead, I’ll share my highlights.

One of the very first films we watched was The Final Battle, directed by Mladen Miljanović. This was among the best films I saw at the Festival, not only because of its cinematography and acting, but also because of its magical soundtracks. Miljanović, who is also a professor at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka and a painter, shared a thought that deeply resonated with me: “Usually we understand peace (politicians as well) as a pause between wars, and I think that we should change that narrative. We should start thinking about it as an active term – one that includes discussion, dialogue, and action, not passivity. I think that is the key to using the term peace.” Later on I was very interested in some of his previous work. He had some of truly amazing art works like: Performance without title, The Didactic Wall, Column and many others that I very much so enjoyed.

Hearing his views on art and film was one of my Festival highlights.

Another unforgettable experience came through the films of Norwegian director and artist Morten Traavik. Before attending SFF, I had never heard of him or his art, but after watching North South Man Woman and his 2016 masterpiece Liberation Day, I was completely drawn in.

Liberation Day had a particularly strong impact on me. It was fascinating to see how the rock band Laibach adapted to the restrictions they faced in North Korea, and how Traavik, with his brilliant leadership and narrative style, gave us an impactful look into the stressful days leading up to their performance.

Speaking with Mr. Traavik in person was even more inspiring. When asked about North Korea and his view of their society, he said: “There is a concept between freedom and safety. By freedom, I mean freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom to be chaotic – even freedom to be an a*hole. And safety means being shielded from harmful speech, influences, impressions, and things that can confuse you.”

I have never met anyone like him before, and at first, I was even a little intimidated. But he turned out to be one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever had the chance to meet. He answered all our questions openly, and I believe he would have stayed even longer if time had allowed. His art, worldview, and the music he introduced me to will stay with me for a very long time.

Later on, I discovered that one of the most famous podcasts in the region, “Agelast,” had released an episode featuring Morten, and of course, I listened to it right away. What struck me immediately was that, just as he did with us in person, he frequently mentioned George Orwell and his novel 1984. This resonated deeply with me, not only because 1984 is one of my favorite books, but also because each time I revisit it, I find myself reading it through a different lens. Morten’s own book is titled A Traitor’s Guide to North Korea. As he explained, “Since I have been accused of being a traitor by certain political environments back in Norway for collaborating with North Korea, just as Laibach has, I decided to call the book The Traitor’s Guide to North Korea.” He also revealed that the book is dedicated to an anonymous North Korean cultural bureaucrat who passed away in 2021 and whom he described as his best friend. Written as a long letter to this man, the book draws a paradox between him and Winston Smith from 1984:

“He is definitely a part of the system – he is a servant of a big, huge machine, just a small wheel in it. But at the same time, he carries within him this small flame of rebellion.”

I found this comparison both moving and insightful, as it not only described his late friend but also, in many ways, reflected Morten himself. Listening to the podcast gave me yet another opportunity to hear his perspective, and I enjoyed it just as much as meeting him in Sarajevo. There is so much more I could say about him, but I will save that for another blog.

The week wasn’t always easy, we dealt with heavy topics, and at times it was difficult to simply move on from what we had just seen. But that’s exactly what made these films so powerful. I also want to mention Lejla and Slobodan, who guided us with daily reflection sessions. Their presence and support were invaluable, helping us process everything we had experienced. Beyond the Festival itself, Sarajevo was magical. During SFF, the city has a different vibe, almost as if it transforms to welcome the world. Thanks to WeBalkans, I had the chance to see Sarajevo through new lenses and enjoy it in a truly unique way.

Film and festivals are my passion, and I gave my very best to Sarajevo. In return, Sarajevo gave its very best to me.

Stay tuned as in my next blogs I’ll share interviews with some amazing directors and producers, as well as a very special piece on the Hollywood star whose art has changed cinematography and the way we perceive films forever.