Regional Youth Cooperation Office - RYCO

23/12/2025

With the final meeting in South Mitrovica, within the framework of the RYCO Tour and ’s Chairmanship of the RYCO Governing Board, an important chapter comes to an end. 🤝

RYCO Co-Chair Donika Zogu met with the Mayor of Mitrovica, Mr. Faton Peci, a long-standing supporter of RYCO who has been closely involved since its founding. During the meeting, he reaffirmed his continued commitment to RYCO’s mission and to strengthening youth empowerment across the region.

22/12/2025

Last Friday, representatives of governments and youth from the Western Balkans came together for the 27th Governing Board Meeting of RYCO.

The online meeting reviewed achieved results and set priorities for the year ahead, including the adoption of RYCO’s Operational Plan and Budget for 2026. It also marked the conclusion of 's Chairmanship, with Montenegro taking over for the coming year.

This session was the first Governing Board meeting under RYCO’s new leadership, setting the direction for the next institutional phase and continued support for youth cooperation across the region.

Read more in the link below 👇

Western Balkans, Friday 19th December - Representatives of governments and youth from WB6 gather together in 27th RYCO Governing Board Meeting to evaluate achieved results and discuss priorities and upcoming activities for the year ahead. GB Meeting, that took place online, marked an important miles

19/12/2025

RYCO’s Eighth Newsletter is here! 🚀
Dive into the latest updates from the Regional Youth Cooperation Office, featuring key highlights, inspiring stories, and exciting upcoming events.

Click the link to explore the 8th edition and stay connected!

RYCO's Eighth Newsletter is here! Packed with highlights and upcoming events, our team has worked hard to make this newsletter a gateway to the latest happenings in the Regional Youth Cooperation Office. In this edition, you'll find diverse features, ranging from RYCO activities and inspiring ind

18/12/2025

RYCO Is Taking the YPS Agenda Forward in Serbia 🚀

RYCO LBO in Serbia, together with and , is keeping the momentum going on Youth, Peace and Security! A two-day training brought together civil society organizations to boost local action, youth leadership, and real impact around the YPS and WPS agendas in Serbia.

✨ 20 CSO representatives dived into global YPS and WPS frameworks, explored how they connect to Serbia’s youth policies, and sharpened their skills through interactive sessions on countering misinformation and hate speech, preventing social tensions, and building dialogue and trust in communities.

This training marks another step in strengthening RYCO–UN cooperation and empowering young people to shape more peaceful, inclusive communities. 💬✌️

17/12/2025

🗣️ Youth voices in action, locally and regionally! As part of the project “Civic Circles – From Institutional Silence to Youth-Led Dialogue”, the Youth Cultural Center Bitola , in partnership with Pro Local Bitola, organized a two-day training bringing together members of the Local Youth Councils from Bitola, Prilep, Krushevo, and Krivogashtani.

🎯 Through interactive sessions on youth participation, representation, advocacy, strategic planning, and cooperation with municipalities, young participants strengthened their skills to effectively represent youth interests and drive positive change in their communities.

✨ This is all part of the RYCOgnizing YPS wave, and we’re just getting started, because YPS isn’t just a topic… it’s the trend

📍 The following activity received support through RYCOgnizing YPS granting scheme, supported by German Cooperation and implemented by RYCO

16/12/2025

✨ Tradition, craft, and memory came together at the opening of “Sparks of Heritage,” a photographic exhibition by our WB Cultural Fund grantee that brought into focus one of the oldest and most unique professions of the Egyptian community in Albania: blacksmithing. Through intimate and powerful images, the exhibition honored master artisans who shape glowing metal into tools, decorative objects, and works of art, keeping a centuries-old tradition alive.

🔥 Throughout the exhibition, “Sparks of Heritage” documented the last generations of Egyptian blacksmiths, highlighting the deep cultural identity and heritage carried through their craft. By bridging past and present, the exhibition aimed to preserve this endangered tradition while inspiring younger generations to reconnect with their history, roots, and sense of belonging.

📍 Western Balkans Youth Cultural Fund it’s a multi-year RYCO project, financed by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, designed for cultural practitioners and civic society organizations dealing with youth and culture

13/12/2025

📍 RYCO Head Office welcomed representatives of the Franco-German Youth Office OFAJ DFJW, including Tobias Butow, German Secretary General, Florence Gabbe, Head of Unit – Regions, Europe and Neighbourhood, and Nermina Trbonja, Regional Advisor. The delegation was hosted by RYCO Secretary General Vladimir Obradović, together with Deputy Secretary General Kreshnik Loka, and RYCO Team. The meeting highlighted OFAJ’s important role as an institutional model and inspiration in the establishment of RYCO as its sister organization in the Western Balkans.

🤝🏼 The exchange reaffirmed the close partnership between RYCO and OFAJ, rooted in shared values of youth engagement, reconciliation, and regional cooperation. Discussions focused on institutional experience-sharing, strengthening strategic collaboration, and exploring future joint initiatives that place young people at the center of dialogue and peacebuilding efforts.

🗣️ RYCO and OFAJ continue their cooperation to advance youth exchange and reconciliation, contributing to a region defined by mutual understanding, cooperation, and sustainable peace.

13/12/2025

At the Coordination Meeting of Western Balkans Regional Organisations in Brussels 🙌🏻, organised by the , RYCO joined partners from across the region and the EU to mark the handover of the Berlin Process 2025 and the start of coordination for the year ahead.

As the youth pillar of the Berlin Process, RYCO underlined the importance of ensuring that young people are not only part of the agenda, but active contributors to shaping priorities, cooperation, and regional outcomes. Looking ahead, we remain committed to working closely with regional organisations and EU partners to strengthen youth participation and ensure that the next Berlin Process cycle reflects the voices, needs, and potential of young people across the Western Balkans.

The meeting gathered representatives from , , , , , and the as the host of the 2026 Berlin Process Summit.

12/12/2025

🫂 The Superschools Exchange journey keeps moving forward!

📍 We’re excited to spotlight another round of exchanges in this new cycle, bringing together inspiring students and schools and turning collaboration into real connections:

🔹 PHS Algoritam Centar – Third Milenium
🔹 Petro Sota Vocational School, Fier – High School of Graphic Technologies, Design and Multimedia Ilidža
🔹 SUGS EMUC “8mi Septemvri” – IAAP “Adem Gllavica”
🔹 Secondary School of Economics and Catering and Tourism Mostar – School for Visually Impaired Pupils “Veljko Ramadanović”
🔹 Opštinsko Sredno Medicinsko Učilište “Dr Jovan Kalauzi” – Secondary Dental School Sarajevo
🔹 Technical School Bor – Mixed High School “Hasan Kikić” Gradačac

🌍 Every exchange is a new story of learning, inclusion, and friendship across borders. Here’s to the energy, teamwork, and unforgettable moments that make Superschools so special!

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This programme is part of a multi-donor project, co-financed by the 🇪🇺 and the 🇩🇪 Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with RYCO.

12/12/2025

✨ Youth voices at the heart of decision-making

The Conference “Berlin Process Youth Forum – Conclusions and Recommendations in the Context of Montenegro,” hosted in the Parliament of Montenegro, marked an important follow-up to the Berlin Process Youth Forum, connecting youth recommendations with institutional action.

🗣️ Edin Kolenovich , Head of the RYCO Local Office in Montenegro, emphasized that the event went beyond a traditional conference, representing a key step toward more inclusive, participatory, and European-oriented youth policies. He underlined that challenges across the Western Balkans — from peace and security to economic development and migration — cannot be addressed without the active involvement of young people.

Minister of Sports and Youth Ministarstvo sporta i mladih Dragoslav Šćekić emphasised that young people are the key builders of sustainable peace and must be central to all policies and decisions. He highlighted youth recommendations as a roadmap for creating a society where young people can thrive, and encouraged them to stay active, courageous, and engaged in shaping their future.

🏛️ Boris Pejović, Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro, highlighted the importance of this moment ahead of 2026, while Nikola Rakočević, Vice President of the Parliament, reflected on the founding of RYCO and the role of youth in driving reconciliation and European values.

📍 H.E. Jan Haukas, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, reaffirmed that decisions affecting young people should never be made without youth.

🧩 RYCO remains committed to placing young people at the center of institutional dialogue and turning youth recommendations into meaningful change across the Western Balkans.

11/12/2025

🗣️ In a room filled with committed voices for peace, our own Dardana Fetahu, Acting Head of the LBO in Pristina, joined a panel organized by UNMIK together with the United Youth Task Force, marking the 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2250.

📍 The panel, held in the framework of the 10th anniversary of UNSCR 2250, was more than a discussion, it was a moment to look back at how far the movement for youth-led peacebuilding has come, and to imagine what the next decade must bring.

🧩 As stories, experiences, and hopes were shared, Dardana brought forward the regional perspective: a reminder that when young people are trusted as partners, not observers, communities grow stronger and dialogue becomes possible.

🫂 Surrounded by inspiring contributors from the local comic and the region, she echoed a vision we carry every day, that lasting peace is built hand in hand with youth.