Sixty secondary schools from the Western Balkans have been selected to participate in the Superschools programme of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).  Their students and teachers will have a chance to implement school-to-school exchanges as well as to participate in other activities dedicated to their capacity building, networking and cooperation.

During the first Superschools open call, RYCO received 127 exchange proposals, while more than 412 schools from the Western Balkans used the www.superschools.net online platform for networking with other schools. The selection committee then had to select the 30 best projects aimed at supporting peacebuilding and reconciliation processes and intercultural learning and dialogue among schools, students and their communities.

The implementation of the projects will take place from February to May this year when each school will organise one exchange visit to their partner, lasting between six and ten days with a group of up to 20 students and one or two teachers. Through the exchange scheme, students and teachers will have a chance to travel, and to present themselves, their schools and customs to their hosts, and learn new things about communities in different parts of our region.

The programme is being implemented for three years and 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).