18-20 September 2020 – Balkans Group organised the second edition of the training programme “Youth in Politics”. Twenty young members of all parliamentary parties (an equal number between women and men) participated in an intensive training of learning new topics and skills. The participants came from 16 municipalities throughout Kosovo.
The opening remarks were made by H.E Jans Erik Grøndahl, Norwegian Ambassador to Kosovo who highlighted that youth need to find a will and an ability to work together to avoid polarisation. The ambassador advised the trainees to seek common ground to find solutions for the common good. Likewise, the ambassador appealed to the trainees to help Kosovo develop further by staying and working in Kosovo.
The first course included training on modules such as: Political parties and ideologies, Regional cooperation/Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Economic Development and Social Policies, and Gender and Social Inclusion. The young members were provided trainings around specific skill such as debating, strategic communication, drafting a memo, and critical and conceptual thinking. The modules were delivered by renowned professors in Kosovo, including Dr. Shqipe Mjekiqi, Dr. Jehona Lushaku Sadriu, Mentor Nimani, and Dr. Nita Luci.
To provide additional practical examples for each module, we invited two guest speakers to share their insights on the respective topics, Agon Maliqi- an expert on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process and Rozafa Ukimeraj- General Secretary at the Ministry for Local Governance. The presentations made by them sparked an interesting discussion among the youth participants, as they were eager to learn more about several decision-making processes within Kosovo institutions.
The next session will be held in the October. The training will offer four additional modules consisting of issues and skills, such as Good Governance and Rule of Law, Educational Policies, Health and Social Policies, and EU Integration.
The “Youth in Politics” training programme is part of the multi-pillar project “Advancing Kosovo’s Institutions, Democratisation, and Regional Cooperation”. The education programme seeks to offer young individuals and members of political parties throughout Kosovo a chance to develop a practical toolkit to help them overcome some of the most critical hurdles to their progressing career. The training program is implemented in cooperation with AUK Training and Development Institute
The project is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pristina.