Ema Meçaj

My name is Ema Meçaj. I am 18 years old and I come from Albania. I am a young journalist and activist, very interested in youth empowerment. I am engaged in awareness, advocacy, and lobbying activities in protection of human rights, youth participation, leadership, gender equality, and peacebuilding with international and regional organisations like UNICEF, Save the Children, OSCE, UNDP, UNFPA, Friends of Europe, and RYCO. My activism has mainly been focused on gender equality. Over the years, I have raised my voice strongly about this topic. As a contributor to the book ‘They lived as they wished happily ever after’, published by UNDP in Albania, my aim was to try breaking the gender stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our culture. What drives me to continue working hard and advocating is that I want to bring substantial changes in my community and empower young people.

A model leadership should empower people, offer equal opportunities, and work towards more peaceful communities and fair decision-making. We, the young people, are the leaders of tomorrow, and we can bring that change.