Seven partner organizations from six countries — Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania — joined forces in the project Strengthening the human dignity of young people in the EU and the Western Balkans with a simple goal: to enable young people from the EU and Western Balkans to connect, learn and grow together, regardless of geographical or economic constraints. Looking at the first implementation period, this goal has been achieved with real and measurable results.

What we have achieved — 28 online sessions in five programme areas, involving 274 participants from all six partner countries. Activities covered youth leadership, human dignity and EU values, critical thinking and media literacy, participation in hybrid projects, and intercultural dialogue — all in an online format, making them accessible to young people who otherwise have limited access to international learning experiences.

Each partner brought something of their own. World Youth Alliance Europe coordinated the project and, together with SSM JIE, conducted Academies for Young Leaders focused on public advocacy, using its experience in connecting young people with EU values and education on human dignity. In Bosnia and Herzegovina BRAVO organized two Winter Academies — structured programs that provided participants from across the Western Balkans region with practical tools for civic engagement and youth leadership.

The field of media literacy has come to life with the work University of EPOKA in Albania, who designed and conducted a series of expert seminars on topics ranging from civil dialogue and data protection to the impact of artificial intelligence on the information we consume every day. AMJE from Spain joined in with his own event on audience responsibility in a time of information overload. The intercultural dimension was rounded off by KVRP from Kosovo, which hosted the Intercultural Conversations and opened a space for participants from all six countries to dialogue about identity, shared values, and building bridges across borders.

Connecting the online and real world — A particular value of the programme was represented by hybrid projects, which directly connected online participants to existing live events, including international leadership conferences in Zagreb and Brussels. Young people from six countries joined conferences and expert lectures virtually — demonstrating that quality intercultural learning does not require physical travel and opening doors to young people who would otherwise not be able to participate. The sessions of the Certified Training Programme on Human Dignity and EU Values were conducted in small groups, which allowed for in-depth discussions on fundamental rights, solidarity and democratic values. The division of larger sessions into smaller ones was a deliberate decision of the partners and enabled a larger number of young people to participate than the original format would have allowed.

Impact and reach — Beyond the session figures, the first period brought concrete results: developed skills and competences of youth workers, increased social inclusion and acquired soft skills of young people, including young people with fewer opportunities, from three participating and three non-participating countries. The activities had a strong non-formal learning component focused on intercultural learning, peer exchange of experiences and recognition of competences developed by young people. In order to extend the impact beyond the circle of direct participants, the consortium published press releases and newsletters throughout the period and ran a continuous campaign on social networks.