YMCA in Kosovo Blog

Hi I am Zana, not such an ordinary 23 year-old from Peja, at least I’ve been told so! The thing about me is that I am an extrovert with a bit of extra energy and creativity that needs to be channelled, and I started noticing that after I was out of university. Day dreaming of social equality and looking for opportunities to make a change, and as most of the youth I was eager to find somewhere I belong a space I can be me. Now here is how my YMCA journey starts. So my friend invited me to this new training called I Am Whole in the YMCA in Peja, so it thought I would give it a try. Being a psychology student at the time I was amazed at the work I saw in those mental health sessions. Young people were learning about subjects we as a society never talked about; anxiety, phobias, mindfulness, body image all of these topics were and are considered taboo. I remember thinking at the time... now this is a platform where people should join. After we shared a lot of memories, fears, and happine...

In Kosovo, many people still have a pattern of identification based on ethnicity or religious identity laden with security and incidents, especially in the Peja region. Inter-ethnic relations in Kosovo are, to put it simply, specific, and this is particularly reflected in the example of integration of returnees. There are few examples of genuine multi-ethnic cooperation in the Peja. However, it exists through the cooperation of civil society. Two projects are currently happening in the Peja region, involving young people from numerous communities. One is run by the George William Youth Center (YMCA) and the other by the Osojana Community Minority Rights Center. The Youth Building Bridges project is led by Zana Ramovic from Peja. "What we are currently doing is through art. We work in Goraždevac, Peja, Gjakova, Junik and Deçan. So far, we have held eight workshops on tolerance, peace, democracy, teamwork and conflict resolution." says Zana ramovic from the YMCA. Marko Me...