At the closure of the Traveling Workshop “The reality of young people in rural areas amidst current challenges and aspirations for the future”, Rrjeti Shqiptar per Zhvillim Rural – ANRD is pleased to share with you the latest effort dedicated to rural youth. 20 young professionals from 17 Albanian villages traveled to the North of Albania to discuss the most important challenges facing young people in rural Albania.
“We decided to stop writing unfinished letters,” was said with the creation of the ANRD Youth Hub. The realization of this experience was made possible by the initiative of Mrs. Evelina Azizaj, project coordinator of ANRD.
Rural Youth Resource Center (Youth Hub) is a long-term group that expresses the voice of young people in rural Albania and promotes self-activation and action by rural youth, in partnership with civil society and local government. Youth Hub serves as a platform for young people to engage in the rural development process, networking with organizations and professionals throughout Albania advocating for their needs to stakeholders through aspirations.
Youth Hub is organized according to its Guideline and has three main goals:
- To bring the issues facing young people in rural areas in focus of the public debate and provide recommendations and practical solutions to challenges – articulating challenges and advancing rural youth aspirations;
2. To mobilize and engage rural youth in civic engagement activities by supporting and advancing the priorities and interests of young people in rural areas;
3. To empower rural youth through awareness raising, education and creating opportunities to meet, exchange and network at local, national, regional and European levels.
For World Mountain Day, date December 11, 2019, Mr. Petrit Imeraj, invited on television to talk about the importance of the Albanian mountains, spoke in his interview on the launching of the traveling workshop. The Traveling Workshop took place over 3 days, 12th – 14th of December 2019, under the vital title “Youth Hub”, which received the World Mountains Day relay.
Day I, included the introduction of the Youth Hub founding participants, through workshops and visits, as follows:
- WORKSHOP Session: Rural YOUTH HUB – empowering rural youth to advance their interests and priorities
II. Field Visit in Reç area, Planting 20 chestnut seedlings in the chestnut massif
III. Cultural Evening, Tell me about your village
Day II, directs attention to the great responsibilities that come with great powers. This day served as a discussion workshop on topics that concern youth in rural areas and their aspirations, as follows:
- WORKSHOP Session: Challenges, practical solutions and aspirations for future – of the rural youth, by the rural youth, for the rural youth
II. Visit in Buna River Protected Landscape, Wandering along walking routes
III. Cultural tour in Shkodër, Shkodra a library town
Day III, summarizes the walks and writings of everyone during the days of the traveling workshop, on ” RESOLUTION OF YOUTH HUB IN RURAL ALBANIA” with the agenda:
- CONCLUDING WORKSHOP, Adopting the Rural Youth Resolution
As a result of various discussions during the traveling workshop, the ANRD Youth Hub drafted this resolution to improve the lives of young people in rural areas. We call on national and local decision makers, rural development organizations and other stakeholders to respect the needs of young people and foster our aspirations.
Youth Hub is open to all rural youth, students, entrepreneurs, farmers who are enthusiastic and motivated to play an active role and contribute to rural development processes and decision making. In less than a day, there have been nearly 60 applications in our call to HUB members. These applications have the premise of being extended, along with the content of the Hub.
This activity is organized as part of the implementation of the project “Consolidating the Role of the Albanian Rural Development Network towards a Functional Model of Perspective with a Bottom-Up Participation in the National Rural Agenda”, which is supported by the European Commission and implemented by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM Albania), in partnership with AgriNet ALBANIA and AgroPuka
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Photo from Activity