YOUTH FORUM ON EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: PRISTINA WELCOMES YOUNG PEOPLE FROM NORTH MACEDONIA AND MONTENEGRO

On August 25, Pristina will become a platform for amplifying the voice of youth from the Western Balkans.

On this date, the “Youth Forum on EU Integration” will take place, organized within the framework of the project “Youth Inclusion for the Europeanization of the Balkans,” implemented by the CFID Institute from Kosovo, NGO GLAS from Montenegro, and BIRC from North Macedonia, with support from the Western Balkans Fund and co-financing by the European Union.

By: Rron Ukimeraj

This forum comes as a continuation of the conference held on July 7 in Podgorica, where young people from the three participating countries did not hold back their ideas and voices.

The forum will be conducted in English to ensure open and inclusive communication among all participants. At the Podgorica conference, I had the privilege of being part of the youth discussion panel, sharing the table with three individuals from the participating countries. Together, we managed to address key topics regarding the role of youth in the European integration process. I was deeply impressed by how similar our views were, and through this experience, I realized that our countries, although divided by a history of conflicts, are going through the same challenges on the path toward our common goal—European integration.

This experience helped me understand that communication and collaboration among the youth of these countries can truly be the driving force that accelerates the integration of our states into the EU.

Alongside the voices of young people, the forum will also feature experts on integration issues, who will contribute with their experience to shaping the thoughts and ideas of participants in a more professional way.

This forum is an important step in empowering the youth of the Balkans, but it is not the last one.

The final conference will be held in North Macedonia, where young people from Skopje will host us once again to bring together our ideas and perspectives for creating the future we want—because without youth, there is no future.

This text was produced within the framework of the project “Youth Inclusion for the Europeanization of the Balkans,” implemented by the BIRC Institute from North Macedonia, NGO GLAS from Montenegro, and CFID from Kosovo, with the support of the Western Balkans Fund and co-financing by the European Union.

The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be considered to reflect the views of the European Union.