Seven groups presented research on regional cooperation in higher education, integrating media literacy into formal education, employment opportunities for young people with disabilities, regional cooperation in combating femicide, advancing the green and digital transition, addressing migration and brain drain, and strengthening youth participation.
The forum also featured a panel discussion bringing together RYLMP alumni, current participants, and representatives of civil society organizations to discuss the role of young people in shaping regional cooperation and influencing policy change across the Western Balkans. Panelists exchanged advocacy experiences, reflected on lessons learned, and explored opportunities to strengthen meaningful and sustainable youth engagement in decision-making and policymaking processes.
The forum was opened by Sofija Todorović, Director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, who welcomed the RYLMP participants and emphasized that one of the program’s core objectives is to strengthen and encourage youth-led advocacy initiatives. She also expressed hope that the program would expand in the future to include additional countries from the Western Balkans region.
In his opening remarks, Dušan Šabić from the Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans noted that more than 60 young researchers and professionals have participated in the program to date.
“This program was never conceived as a symbolic exchange, but as a space and an opportunity for young people to work together in regional teams, engage with public institutions and civil society experts, and test their ideas in different national contexts across the region,” Šabić emphasized, pointing out that young people in Albania, Serbia, and North Macedonia face many of the same challenges.
*The Regional Youth Mobility and Leadership Programme (RYLMP) is jointly implemented by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) from Serbia, the Youth Educational Forum (YEF) from North Macedonia, and the Center for Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) from Albania. The program brings together 20 young activists and researchers from across the region to collaboratively develop public policy proposals in the areas of regional cooperation, digital and green transition, education and employment, youth participation in politics, and migration. The program is funded by the Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans.
