YOUNG PEOPLE RECEIVED RECOGNITION FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE YOUTHBUILD PROGRAM

11. July 2014.

The official awarding of certificates to the young and entrepreneurs, who are the third generation of participants in the YouthBuild Program in South Serbia and who had gained leadership and employment skills and prepared themselves for the labor market, was held in Bujanovac, the organizers said.

The certificates were awarded by the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby, the Head of the Caritas Luxembourg Mission to Serbia Predrag Ranic and by the Executive Director of Civic Initiatives NGO Maja Stojanovic.

As part of the project "YouthBuild Educated and Active Young People", a multi-ethnic group of 41 young Serbs, Roma and Albanians from Bujanovac, Presevo and Vranje, attended, over the past five months, an intensive training course to acquire the skills necessary for employment and activism in their local communities. In addition to the training, program participants were engaged in the conducting of 15 local activities, such as the renovation of the music school in Bujanovac, putting the Pensioners Club in Presevo into order, the remodeling of classrooms in the Vranje-based “Vule Antic” school for primary and secondary education, and the cleaning up of the flooded Paracin.

Letters of thanks for participating in and supporting the program were received by 30 local businessmen, to whom the certificates were awarded by representatives of the municipalities.

“These young people showed by their examples that hard work and commitment to the local community never remained unnoticed. Their hard work and enthusiasm ought to be supported and rewarded, so that they could continue providing a positive example to the whole society ", said Maja Stojanovic, the Executive Director of the Citizens' Initiatives NGO.

One of the participants in the program, Guardian Zeciri, said that during five months that the program lasted, he had learned a lot, adding that non-formal education was very important, especially when looking for a job.

"I think that we did many good things together, while this is just the beginning", said Mr. Zeqiri.

The program "YouthBuild Educated and Active Young People" in South Serbia is conducted by the Civic Initiatives NGO and supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of the "Empowered Youth for Positive Changes in South Serbia and Sandzak”, the Caritas Luxembourg Foundation, YouthBuild International, the City of Vranje and by the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo.

This model has been implemented in South Serbia since October 2011, while the YouthBuild Program was extended to include Sandzak (Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Tutin) in 2013.

Within three generations, 126 Serbian, Roma and Albanian participants acquired the skills in the areas of financial literacy, leadership, teamwork, writing projects, mobilization of local resources, mediation, active job search, launching private businesses, etc. During three years, 22 local activities were carried out and over 3,000 residents were mobilized. Thanks to mobilization of the local resources, 11 ramps for people with disabilities were built in Presevo and Bujanovac, a total of 1.5 kilometers of fence was painted in two elementary schools in Bujanovac, as well as the fence of the Cultural Centre in Presevo.

Source: Tanjug News Agency and Coordination Body