Meeting of young people of this region with young people from Nordic countries

With the support of the Royal Embassy of Norway in Kosovo, meeting of young people of this region with young people from Nordic countries – „Cooperation of young people on the basis of the Nordic model” , was held in Pristina, from November 29th till December 1st. Main purpose of the meeting was to make a contribution to the enhancement of efficiency, development and improvement of capacities of the Igman Initiative’s Youth Forum, engagement of young people from Kosovo in its activities and establishment of cooperation between young people from Nordic countries and young people of this region. Center for Regionalism from Novi Sad and NGO “Mother Theresa” from Pristina were organizers of this meeting. During his speech at the opening of this meeting, Jan Braathu, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Kosovo, expressed his satisfaction with the fact that this meeting opened up another dimension of the already three years -long cooperation between Igman Initiative and the Nordic Council. He also said that Norwegian Embassy is ready to continue to support projects heading towards the transfer of Nordic experiences to these areas, especially in the field of youth cooperation. Members of the Nordic Youth Council Presidency, Mihaela Nulen and Torgni Arvidson spoke about the Nordic Youth Council and its organization in their countries, including problems that they encounter in Nordic countries. They also expressed their satisfaction with this opportunity to share their experiences with young people of this region for the first time.

Young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia and Kosovo spoke about their problems in regard of articulation of interests in countries where they live, including the entire region, and they also emphasized on the importance of establishing cooperation with young people from a developed region such as Nordic region.

During the second part of this meeting, participants worked on a more detailed development of ideas for projects focused on cooperation between the Igman Initiative’s Youth Forum and the Nordic Youth Forum, as well as on cooperation within the region on the basis of Nordic experiences, together with their Nordic colleagues. As a result of this work, about ten draft projects were made, and Jan Braathu, Ambassador of Norwary to Kosovo, promised support for realization of several of those projects.