European Year of Opportunities the Youth

The European Union has declared this year the year of youth. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited many opportunities for young people. It is therefore important to dedicate 2022 to young people, improve the situation caused by the pandemic crisis and create opportunities for greater youth participation through initiatives such as RYCO and EU programs,” said Paul-Henri Presset, Head of Information, Communication and Press of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

Mr Presset addressed the audience on the occasion of the final event of the regional project Improving Youth Cooperation and Youth Exchange in the Western Balkans, implemented by the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), and supported by the European Union. The supported projects have successfully improved the cooperation of young people in the areas of dealing with the past, empowerment and development of young people, social inclusion of young people at risk, intercultural dialogue and freedom of the media. They were implemented by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, the DPN for South East Europe, the Independent Journalists‘ Association of Vojvodina and the Red Cross of Vojvodina as the leading applicants.

Ivana Antonijević, Director of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia, acknowledged the excellent results of the partnership with the EU, especially because different target groups were involved in the process, young people from marginalised groups received the necessary support and as a result RYCO improved its inclusive practices and approach.

“This year is important for Serbia, bearing in mind that Serbia has taken over the chairmanship of the RYCO Governing Board. In addition, 2022 is important for young people in the region because Tirana holds the title of the European Youth Capital this year. In this regard, the Western Balkans is becoming an important place for young people and we hope for even more positive examples and opportunities for them,” Antonijević said.

Projects supported by RYCO and the EU under the 4th RYCO Open Call across the Western Balkans have fostered reconciliation and regional youth cooperation, and strengthened the capacity of civil society to adapt to the environment in the COVID-19 pandemic. They were implemented from February to October 2021.

In the application phase, 129 applications were received, which brought about 400 partnerships from the region. The total financial support for the Call was 333,000 euros.