OSCE Mission in Kosovo brings together young people of different backgrounds for its sixth edition of Youth Academy

The OSCE Mission concluded today in Prishtinë/Priština the sixth edition of its Youth Academy, marking the culmination of a transformative journey for 49 passionate young people of different backgrounds from throughout Kosovo.

Over the course of five days, these motivated participants were part of workshop sessions on project cycle management, panel discussions, and practical group exercises on topics such as community rights, rule of law, property rights, and safeguarding cultural heritage. They also delved into their role as young people in advancing human rights, attended World Café sessions on women’s rights and youth’s contribution to diversity and inclusion, with guest speakers from the institutions, civil society organizations, and the academia, and visited cultural and religious sites.

“A great part of our work over these last 25 years focuses on human rights, youth involvement in human rights activism, and youth engagement,” said Kavya Rajan, Director of OSCE Mission in Kosovo Department of Human Rights and Communities.

“These are all core objectives of our Youth Academy, with the ultimate aim to empower young people and create a network of human rights activists. It was inspiring to see our participants apply principles of diversity, constructive disagreement, and open-minded exchange in their interactions these days,” she added.

For participant Enes Topalli, trainings and discussions he was part of are going to help him as a future lawyer.

“Discrimination and human rights in general were the topics I was mostly interested in. We learned a lot from each other, respected each other’s perspectives and this is going to help me grow as a person, but also in the professional aspect, and this is the beauty of the Youth Academy,” he said, adding that he met youth from different communities and had a lot of fun together.

The Mission also engaged young experts from its pool of resources, such as the Pool of Trainers and the Dialogue Academy Alumnae Network, some of them former Youth Academy participants, ensuring their continued growth, development and positive role model for this year’s participants.

The sixth edition concluded with presentation of project ideas by participants, reflecting their creativity and commitment to positive change and concrete actions.

The OSCE Mission will consider these ideas for potential support, and will continue the co-operation with the youth through their implementation, exchange of future opportunities on human rights activism and engagement of Youth Academy alumni in the next Academy editions as trainers.