By Klajdi Priska, Manager of the “Youth Creates Economy and Innovation” Programme at the National Youth Congress of Albania
As a demographic group that is often full of energy, enthusiasm, and fresh ideas, young people have the potential to drive significant change and progress in various fields. They are often seen as key players in the development and growth of new and emerging industries because they bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the table, which can challenge established ways of thinking and lead to new and exciting opportunities. As such, youth play a crucial role in the creative economy and innovation.
But, why is that? Young people are often more open-minded and willing to take risks, which can lead to the development of new and groundbreaking solutions to problems. To fully realize the potential of youth in the creative economy and innovation, it is important to enable a supportive environment that encourages their growth and development. This can be achieved through providing access to resources and opportunities, such as mentorship programs, educational programs, and access to funding, as we, the National Youth Congress of Albania have been able to contribute throughout 2022 for hundreds and thousands of young people involved in our projects. By fostering a supportive environment, we can help young people in Albania – making up 30% of the population of the country – to unleash their full potential and make a positive impact in the society.
Through the Tirana European Youth Capital title, the National Youth Congress of Albania was set to turn creative economy and innovation into one of the main pillars of the programmatic work towards investing in young people in the country. The initiative was launched in 2009, and each year a different city in Europe is selected to be the European Youth Capital program of the European Youth Forum for a one-year period. During this time, the selected city is expected to host a range of activities and events promoting youth empowerment and engagement, including cultural events, conferences, workshops, and more.
In the frame of Tirana European Youth Capital 2022, together with the Municipality of Tirana, we granted 360 projects and 88 flagship initiatives, implemented by youth organizations (NGOs), youth non-formal groups, and individuals. About 40 of those projects are part of the program “Youth makes Creative Economy and Innovation”. The young people awarded implemented their ideas, were able to create start-ups, workshops, gatherings with investors and create new apps and platforms that help engage more and more young people in Albania and Europe.
Creating partnerships is one of the main challenging processes we went through 2022. The process helped us to grow professionally, to upskill ourselves and learn new initiatives we were not aware of before. This is the case of the European Territorial Cooperation programmes and projects, key to territorial and community development in Albania.
More concretely, the National Youth Congress of Albania came across a great opportunity such as the INTERREG Programmes and EUSAIR strategy during the INTERREG IPA EUSAIR YOUTH CONFERENCE IPA organised by Cooperation and Development Institute in Tirana in the framework of the Tirana European Youth Capital in December 2022.
We came across of new ideas and opportunities on how our member organizations work in the different sectors and how NYC’s objective to advocate for an informed youth participation in the EU integration process can be further supported through the INTERREG IPA programmes. New project partnerships can provide resources, support, and mentorship to empower youth and enhance their skills and knowledge. Skilled and active citizens play a fundamental role in advancing the EU integration process of Albania.
We also understood that this is the right timing, not only because the new funding period 2021-2027 is just starting but also because institutions are open to discuss better ways for youth to get involved as direct beneficiaries.
To understand all of this in practical terms, the National Youth Congress of Albania joined the Cooperation and Development Institute, in a project visit to the Albanian National Center of Cinematography on 13 January 2023. This centre had implemented one Interreg IPA project focused on creative economy funded by the INTERREG IPA Programme, Italy Albania Montenegro. CIRCE (Common Initiatives to Promote Cinema across Italy – Albania – Montenegro) project promotes Cinema across Italy – Albania – Montenegro.
