In the framework of the activity Youth Taking Over Day, a debate took place on the 1st of April 2016 in the Youth Centre of Peja/Stand Hub! It was organized by the Local Democracy Agency of Kosovo within the project Balkan Regional Platform for Youth Participation and Dialogue.
The aim of this activity was to gather a group of youth, working as volunteers in their communities or for some NGOs in Peja, and involve them in an open debate with two local authorities from the municipality of Peja, from the Department of Youth, Culture and Sport: Ms. Jeta Nushi, the Head of Youth, and Mr. Januz Hajzeraj, the Youth Official. Two representatives of OSCE in Peja were also present.
The topic discussed by the group was: “Young people as social, political and cultural decision-makers and as active participants in the society”. The Balkan Regional Platform for Youth Participation and Dialogue notably and continuously aims at raising the awareness of young people about their own importance in the society, motivating them to be open and active citizens for activities and positive changes that they would like to see in the community they belong to. Moreover, another important objective of the Balkan Platform is to offer young people - like in this activity - the opportunity to feel free to present to the local authorities the eventual issues they are concerned about, and not only at the local level, but also to other public institutions that could help them get familiar with the reality of making policies for them and for the communities in general and also being actively part of the decision-making processes.
The local authorities showed and explained some data related to the attendance of youth of the municipality of Peja in many different activities, and their absence as well, which needs to be improved in the future, motivating and encouraging young people to be more participative, initiator and open to their own needs in the society.
On the other hand, the group of youth explained their concerns and the obstacles to their role in the society and how they would like to change the future by their presence, either physical or intellectual, in order to progress towards a more democratic and social community, where equal opportunities will be offered with, among others, more activities and “spaces” from the public institutions to welcome youth in the decision-making processes concerning any social field: education, culture, law, social welfare, etc.
The representatives of OSCE addressed some relevant messages to the group, declaring: “it is important to stand up for your own rights and take your destiny into your own hands, not to always be passively in expectation for someone else to clarify and solve all eventual problems”.
At the end of the debate, the group concluded that only if people recognize the difficulties and problems related to the society and the eventual lack of opportunities from the country itself, they could understand these problems, analyse them, manage to find solutions and shape positive decisions in the society or community they live in. This will then entail common growth and improved social welfare, especially for the young people, who are the future of every society worldwide.