In the period from November 20 to 21, in Durres, Albania, the second Regional Forum on Youth Entrepreneurship was held as part of the Initiative of Civil Society Organizations of the Western Balkans in support of employment of young people (web4yes).

The Forum was held with the aim, among other things, to present regional reports on the Development and Promotion of Lifelong Entrepreneurial Learning and the Enabling Environment for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans, elaborate recommendations for improving these areas, as well as to strengthen the cooperation of relevant institutions and organizations. Reports were created as a product of a constructive dialogue among all relevant actors within the National Youth Employment Forums held in all countries of the Western Balkans.

During the two days of the forum, more than 70 participants discussed the possibilities for improving the youth entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial learning policies in the region.

The Regional Forum for Youth Entrepreneurship was opened by the Executive Director of Beyond Barriers Association from Albania, Ms. Ana Mulanji, who greeted the present participants, following Mrs. Silva Banushi, General Director of Employment and VET Programme within the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Albania, shared experiences with on support to youth entrepreneurship in Albania. The Executive Director of the Belgrade Open School, Mr. Milorad Bjeletic, presented the main findings, challenges, and recommendations of Practical Policies in the Western Balkans related to the employment of young people.

Young successful entrepreneurs from the countries of the Western Balkan region also had the opportunity to present their business ideas. Their experiences should give civil and state sector representative’s ideas for improving cooperation and public policies in this are.

Innovative initiatives of young entrepreneurs were presented by Pezana Reha from Albania, who owns a social furniture manufacturing company - Pana and Marko Maras from Montenegro, presenting the concept of a digital farm - Seljak.me.

As examples of good practices in supporting youth entrepreneurship in the WB region, Ana Rasovic (Union of Young Entrepreneurs of Montenegro) spoke, Nemanja Glavinić (Junior Achievements from Serbia), Bora Selenica, who presented the work of the Alumni group Junior Achievements from Albania, as well as Igor Milosevic from ADP-ZID who introduced Upbeat Hub.

At the very end of the Regional Forum, Ada Hamidoic (KULT, BiH) and Marko Stojanovic (Belgrade Open School and WEBIN) presented the results of the reports that emerged from working group work.

Here you can download complete agenda of the event.

The project coordinator is Belgrade Open School, and partners in the project are Association for Democratic Prosperity - ZID (Montenegro), Lens (Kosovo), Association Beyond Barriers (Albania), Institute for Youth Development - KULT (Bosnia and Herzegovina), National Youth Council of Macedonia and Olof Palme International Centre (Sweden).

The WEB4YES project will last from December 2017 to December 2020 and is supported by the European Union.