Belgrade Open School was talking with the young people who have initiated changes in their local communities about changing the Europe through the youth activism. Moreover, BOS presented publications on mobility and sustainable travel, technology, inclusion, employability and ecology. These publications were based on innovative and creative ideas of more than 100 young people from 10 countries in the Danube region that were awarded in the project called 50 ideas for Europe.
From our perspective – Europe does not represent only the European Union, but something much wider – it includes all the countries located in the Danube region. Although it is assumed that young people from these countries are not that similar, our project showed the contrary. Similar issues bother young people from Moldova, Serbia and Austria. Besides that, our project tell us why the continuous systemic support for youth activities is extremely important said Jovana Bozickovic, coordinator of the project 50 ideas for Europe.
The thematic units that were identified through the analysis of youth's needs in 10 countries of the Danube region refer to employability, environmental protection, new technologies, mobility, travel and inclusion. 500 young people proposed solutions to problems in these areas. The 50 best ideas, created by 100 young people, were selected. Later on, they served as a materials for various publications, advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns, guides, as well as manuals (all of the materials are available HERE).
The second part of the conference included a discussion regarding the mechanisms of youth involvement to community change at the local, regional and European level. The participants of this discussion were representatives of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office - RYCO Marija Bulat, Miljana Pejic from the National Youth Council of Serbia (NYCS) and Mila Lukić, Advisory Council on Youth - Council of Europe.
Youth ideas and activism are an indicator that regional cooperation can and must work in our post-conflict environment. By funding the projects of civil society organizations and high schools that aim to enable youth networking spaces, to develop their practical skills, involve them to participate on study visits or in the work of RYCO bodies, we try to make young people articulate their interests in the right way said Marija Bulat.
Belgrade Open School (BOS) and the European Youth Capital 2019 - Novi Sad - OPENS are focusing on youth activities, since they believe that young people are initiators of change in Europe. Therefore, BOS implemented a three-year project called 50 ideas for Europe: New leaders, New opportunities in cooperation with nine youth organizations from the Danube region, with the support of OPENS. The conference Changing Europe: New Leaders on the Move was held on Monday, 7th of December 2020. It represented the final expected activity of the project 50 ideas for Europe - New leaders, new opportunities (the video of the conference is available HERE).