YMCA in Kosovo Blog

The impact of the YMCA Roots for Reconciliation ( https://rfr.ymcaeurope.com/ ) project has been very visible for a number of participants from Kosovo and Ireland. Together the two movements reignited their partnership recently and hope to build on solid foundations of very successful past projects and train a new generation of leaders to add to their talent pools. Seeds were sown many years ago when YMCA Ireland joined the Balkan Tandem project that took place in Prishtina, Kosovo. Following that and the similar mission and priorities of the movements a joint ERASMUS bid was funded, this helped both movements invest in youth workers and peace advocates. The long term effect of this has seen some of those participants move up their respected organisations and continue to work in youth and peace building. Those professionals will now help the senior leadership shape the training of the next generation... moving from seeds to strong trees in terms of their importance to their in...

A short but memorable visit... This month August 2019 the YMCA celebrated its 175th birthday, which was held in London. We volunteered at this 4-day event, where our goal was to represent Kosovo and tell about our work at the YMCA. Dea with YMCA Kosovo delegation at the YMCA 175 In addition to participating in the workshops, we also had the honor of leading our own workshops, sharing our culture with other people. Not only did we share our culture, we also got to know many other cultures from around the world, where we also had the opportunity to make friends with other young people who were part of the event. Dea with her new friend  And finally, we took a stroll through London visiting some of the many tourist sites and museums. Dea with YMCA Kosovo Delegation visiting London

A trip to London… The journey we undertook had a purpose: Attending the YMCA175 event, where we as a delegation from Kosovo had the honor of sharing the beautiful work of our youth with the world, how they help the community, empower youth and how it has impacted and continues to impact, influence. The YMCA is a place where young people can make a difference and feel valued in their community. Diona with the YMCA Kosovo Delegation in the YMCA 175 event I am fortunate to have the honor and privilege to be part of leading one of the many workshops of that event where I had the opportunity to share our culture and the role of young people from my country in empowering youth and changing socializing with people who were eagerly attending and involved in the session we had prepared! Diona during her workshop  Also, during this time I had the opportunity to participate in various workshops where I had the opportunity to get to know a large number of people from all over th...

When I first found out that I was chosen to go to London for YMCA 175 I was too excited, not only because I was going to London but also it was my first time in an airplane and my first time in an international event with YMCA. As days went by, the 3rd of August finally came. After a day of traveling, we saw our self in London. I still couldn't believe it. For the event, we had to take part in different workshops that were held by different countries around the world. We also had to lead a workshop "TenSing in a new country" which was on the last day of the event. The first day was amazing... It was the opening of the event where our ambassador Florent Abrashi sang some amazing songs, creating a wonderful atmosphere. The second day went great. Jora with Era, Dea, and Diona at YMCA175  I took part on workshops about wellness, leadership, and inclusion, which made me learn a lot about those topics and I’m happy that I can share that knowledge with our yout...

Being part of international training is something not everybody can be part of. I had the chance to participate in the YMCA Europe Leadership Academy. I’m always interested to know more about leadership so I was thrilled to get to be part of the Leadership Academy. The first session that was organized in Paris during April 2018 I learned a lot.  Ariana and her Leadership Academy friends It’s amazing how everything was prepared in the most perfect way possible, learning more about project management, about target groups, getting to know the different problems in different countries was a wonderful experience. It was one week that I meet different people with different jobs, different backgrounds that I couldn’t wait to meet again. Ariana during her training So before going back to meet these wonderful people again, it was time to do our homework, to share what we learned in the Academy with young people back home.  It was finally time for the second session. ...

As part of my job, international training is very important. This time I had the chance for the second time to be part of  YMCA Europe Roots for Reconciliation training. I was excited about this training because when I was in Berlin for the Peace Work institute we were separated in different tandem groups and the group that I was part of we wanted to do a  digital campaign for peace. After six months I was invited to be part of the P.E.A.C.E project in Budapest- which was my groups tandem idea.I was very happy that our project was chosen to be implemented. P.E.A.C.E project aimed to train different youth workers and leaders who work with young people and to spread peace-building through different online campaigns and build the participants knowledge of digital tools and platforms that can help them do this. Nita and Fiona from Kosovo Y I feel safe and not left out in RFR training's and this time again it was a very good because I had the chance to present about wh...

This time for the Roots for Reconciliation project I headed to Budapest with 35 young people from 17 countries. A wonderful week full of study sessions, workshops and presentations from brighter minds which I'm thankful for.  The main goal was to bring and find peace spreading it through a campaign and social media. Fiona and other participants in the P.E.A.C.E training  An old man once said: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old but building the new"... and that is what we did. Round-tables surrounded by minds thinking independently together, that I'm sure made all of us come to a solution "Peace is our gift to each other". Fiona and her group presented their ideas It was my second time training with RFR, and I'm honored to say 'It changed my way of thinking'. The skills we get to learn do not end there... with yourself, then pass it down and spread the message in our countries. ...

When you first think of the word “PEACE” it makes you think and do something about it because everyone wants to change the disaster in the world… And that’s what RFR stands for. The first session was held in Tbilisi, Georgia but I didn’t have the chance to be a part of it because of a visa problem, however my mentor Adi didn’t let me miss anything what happened there and I was also connected with the group all the time. Fiona at the Roots training in Berlin We met all together in the city of  history, Berlin. We were 30 young people from different countries , where each of us has a story to tell. I was impressed how they managed to make every single detail on point. We started every morning with the “message of the day” and I felt so proud that the first message was a speech from Mother Teresa , because she’s a peace symbol and a role model for everyone, and she’s Albanian. Fiona and her tandem group The session “Do No Harm”  from the program really impress...

In March, I was invited on a trip to a place that is very rare to visit for people in Kosovo... Estonia. A very beautiful place with rich culture and good people. For two months we prepared ourselves for this trip, and on 8 th of May we traveled in Estonia for new adventure for 10 days.  The reason that we traveled to Estonia was the YES Seminar and YMCA Europe's General Assembly meeting. First we had 3 days seminar for youth from different countries of Europe, precisely from 25 countries of Europe. For me it was the best experience ever! Getting to know people who are the same age as me and sharing our country experiences, learning from our stories about the situation of the young people right across Europe.  Adelina with other young people from across Europe  Part of the Yes Seminar was the presentation on the role and support of the Erasmus +, their work and support on capacity building and development of the young people in Europe. Duri...