YEA of the Month September 2023
My name is Adi Softić, Young European Ambassador from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I am an experienced chairperson with a long history of work in the entertainment industry, culture and event management.
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Buckingham.
I am also the co-founder of the ‘Ex Files Maglaj’ project which archives surviving photographs and belongings following the floods of 2014.
This weekend, two Young European Ambassadors (YEA) from Albania were invited in The Civil Society Forum of Western Balkans, organized as part of the Berlin Process Summit 2023 with its main objective to facilitate constructive and inclusive discussions on regional challenges.
From the European Future of the Western Balkans Forum to different topics, YEAs could attend sessions on the Politics of Enlargement, Sustainable Infrastructure, Biodiversity Protection, and Effective Governance, Energy Transition and how to Strengthen Western Balkans Integration into the European Research Area. It was a great opportunity to be among civil society representatives, public authorities, EU representatives, donors, and others from Western Balkans and EU member states while they exchange best practices and discuss on common challenges.
It was closed with a wonderful Concert: Roma – The Heartbeat of Western Balkans’ Unity
Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from Albania participated in the debate ‘What is Europe’ at Europe House Tirana. The EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca and the well-known Albanian author Lea Ypi discussed the Future of Albania in the EU. Together with the invitees the EU Member States Ambassadors, and civil society, YEAs joined the conversation on the challenges towards the EU and how to involve all the parties including society to better understand and actively participate in the EU Integration process of Albania.
On the 16th and 17th of October Ena Porča and Lazar Simić, YEAs from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, participated at the 29th Lisbon Forum at Ismaili Centre in Lisbon, Portugal. Lisbon Forum 2023 addressed the theme “Human Rights, Environment and Economic Crimes: Youth at the forefront”. YEAs had the opportunity to discuss with Mr Bjørn Berge, the Council of Europe’s Deputy Secretary General. Mr Berge emphasised that the year 2023 was the hottest ever recorded and underlined the importance of including the youth of the Western Balkans in all decision-making processes concerning fighting both climate change and corruption.
Ms Karuna Rana, an award-winning social entrepreneur and environmental activist from Mauritius, reached out to YEAs with a significant message saying that youth should take leadership positions when fighting climate change. Another young European, Mr Spyros Papadatos, Chairperson at the Advisory Council on Youth (AC) of the Council of Europe, advised YEAs to be careful of hypocrisy and to be aware that the biggest polluters are the multinational companies.
Additionally, another precious opportunity was meeting and networking with young activists from Portugal, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, India, Kenya and Ghana. This event was organised in the framework of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe’s project “All Informed, All Concerned”.
The call provides financial support to organisations and individual artists that want to host international artists and cultural professionals for a residency project. The second call for residency hosts under the Culture Moves Europe mobility scheme opened on 16 October 2023. The call provides grants to organisations and individual artists registered as legal entities in one of the 40 Creative Europe countries, that want to host international artists and cultural professionals for a residency project. Applicants should send their proposals with details about the duration, objectives, and expected impact of their residency project. They are required to provide a suitable environment, equipment, and a mentor for the invited artists. This ensures that the participants have good conditions to implement their projects.
The residency action targets hosts working in architecture, cultural heritage, design and fashion design, literature, music, performing arts and visual arts The application process is divided in two phases: Selection of hosts and confirmation of the invited artists, creators and cultural professionals selected by hosts.
Accessibility and inclusivity are at the heart of Culture Moves Europe. Special financial support is offered to participants living with disabilities and those having children below the age of 10. There is also special support for those travelling to and from overseas countries and territories as well as the outermost regions of the EU. Culture Moves Europe is equally committed to operating in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way and the applicants are invited to include those aspects in their residency projects. Participating artists and cultural professionals are encouraged to use more sustainable means of transportation. Those who select not to travel by plane will receive an additional amount to compensate higher costs of green travel.
BIRN Kosovo held a three-day training course on investigative journalism and fact-checking with regional and international experts in Skopje, North Macedonia from October 13 to 15. A total of 18 journalists from around the region, 11 of whom were women, attended the course. Over three days, the participants became familiar with fact-checking and verification tools and studied in-depth investigations from the region. The first day’s training was conducted by Stephane M. Grueso, deputy coordinator of Spanish fact-checking media outlet Maldita.es, who talked about the current global problem with disinformation.
The second day continued with Grueso from Maldita, who talked about verification tools and techniques to debunk disinformation, giving practical examples. The next session was conducted by Meri Jordanovska, a journalist and deputy editor-in-chief of Metamorphosis in North Macedonia.
The last day of the training course was conducted by Kreshnik Gashi, the managing editor of BIRN Kosovo’s KALLXO.com. Gashi spoke about the misinformation and propaganda spread by Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Balkans, citing findings from investigations in Kosovo. He also talked about the use of whistleblowers while reporting on organised crime in the Balkans, how to protect whistleblowers, and how organised crime functions in the Balkans.This training course was held as part of the EU-funded project ‘Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey II’.
Katrina Berishaj Vujačić, an Italian language teacher with over 18 years of teaching experience, resides in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. Her workplace is in Tuzi, a nearby small town situated close to the Albanian border. At her mixed high school, Katrina conducts classes in both the Albanian and Montenegrin languages to cater to a diverse student body. Additionally, she holds the position of President within the Italian Language Teachers Association of Montenegro. Beyond her regular Italian language instruction, Katrina actively participates in non-formal teaching initiatives. She has led a volunteering club at her school for over six years and concurrently engaged in numerous projects under the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).
While participating in a RYCO project that involved the Italian Language Teachers’ Association from both Montenegro and Albania, Katrina learned about the Superschools Western Balkans School Exchange Scheme, which is dedicated to supporting the peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in the region. She recalls, “RYCO organized information sessions about the Superschools scheme, attended by teachers and school representatives from across the region. I took part in one of these sessions and was immediately convinced that our schools should participate.” After the informative session, Katrina scheduled a meeting with her school principal to discuss this opportunity. With the principal’s endorsement, the school joined the Superschools exchange program.
As part of the program, Katrina’s school hosted students from Stevan Sremac High School in Nis, Serbia, at their campus in Tuzi. Here, students engaged in joint classes covering various topics, providing them with a chance to collaborate, establish new connections, and form friendships. Reflecting on the experience, Katrina shares, “We hadn’t encountered anything quite like this before and were initially concerned about how it would unfold. However, from the very first day, the students bonded remarkably well and began functioning as a unified class. It was as if they had known each other for a long time.”
About the project
Superschools is a RYCO 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 “Western Balkans School Exchange Scheme” 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 Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO). The project has a total budget of €5.5 million and contributes to the overall objective of increasing skills and knowledge of young people in the Western Balkans by enhancing education systems and promoting cooperation in the region, through establishing a regional school exchange scheme.
Katrina notes that initially, students with Albanian ethnic backgrounds in their school were somewhat apprehensive about participating in this project, mainly because it involved students from Serbia. However, by the conclusion of the exchange, there was a noticeable and positive shift in their perceptions towards each other. She explains, “I believe this exchange had a significant impact because the workshops covered topics such as stereotypes, prejudices, and the discovery of common interests and cultural traits among individuals with diverse backgrounds. This aspect worked exceptionally well during our exchange experience.”
In Katrina’s view, the Western Balkan region would greatly benefit from more projects of this nature, as they contribute significantly to furthering peacebuilding efforts, which are currently in high demand.
“Made in the Western Balkans – supported by the EU” was the tagline of the first Open4Business event that took place in Skopje on 5 October 2023, gathering nearly 500 participants. Organised by the European Commission, in cooperation with the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia and Western Balkans 6 Chamber Investment Forum, the event was dedicated to helping micro, small, and medium-sized businesses learn more about the support offered to them through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
250 companies took part in Skopje, or followed online, and were impressed with the level of support on offer. Boosting the innovation and resilience of the private sector was the key message delivered in the opening session. The panel discussions for the rest of the morning detailed the specific programmes offered by EIB, EBRD and KfW, giving the floor to small businesses to share how they have benefitted from the international financial institutions’ support.
The afternoon was dedicated to one-on-one sessions between businesses and local banks to discover what could interest them specifically. These meetings were held in each of the Western Balkan’s capitals, and over 80 conversations took place. Sashka Mamućevska, one of the attendees, is a founder of a female-led start-up. “This kind of event is rarely organised in our country,” she said, “although it is very important for us to get information on better access to financing for SMEs”.
