From the 13th-16th of October, our representatives have been present at the West Balkan Initiative meeting, hosted by YMCA Kosovo.
The program sessions were designed around the integration of the mission, and vision of the participating YMCAs from North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Serbia – and the establishment of a bright and flourishing future together within our movement.
The program sessions had Claudia Kuhn from CVJM (YMCA Germany) and Paul Smillie from the Movement Strengthening Initiative joining and enriching the perspectives of the leaders and participants throughout the sessions.
The program offered an incredible opportunity to exchange good practices, meet the local youth leaders, and visit YMCA centres across the country including the new Camp Pjetershan. Our stay was in the city of Peja, with sessions and lunches held at the local YMCA – an impressive multi-functional facility that accommodates a plethora of training programs and youth-oriented sessions.
The first day offered the opportunity for all the country’s participants to provide an update on their YMCA Development during the course of the initiative and we were joined digitally by Tom Valentine of Y USA who has supported Kosovo for this year’s activities.
There were a number of break-out groups which led to insightful conversations on the topics of governance, partnerships and program opportunities, and development Strategy.
Our program continued with discussions on what the future will bring for the West Balkans Initiative, with the leaders being incredibly open and transparent on needs and collective work.
It has been a great opportunity to learn about each movement and their plans and a time to reflect on the promising partnerships and potential future activities.
It was the perfect opportunity to dive deeper into a shared initiative – The Digital Community Hubs of the HP Partnership and ask the question of what is beyond the hubs for the regions?
It has been a great time to remember all the values, memories, and experiences that brought together the leadership of the West Balkans Initiative – continuing to focus their work on regional plans, future steps, challenges, and opportunities for the upcoming year.
So far, in term of achievements, its worth to mention that new municipality spaces and agreements have been acquired by some YMCAs, each YMCAs revenue has increased over the course of the initiative, new partnership projects (within the region and Internationally have begun), extra focus on not just the leaders but staff and board members has been given.
With over 20 digital meetings (team and 1 to 1) plus study visits to all participating YMCAs this year the region is slowly growing and heading in the right direction- with still much work to be done.
Another milestone was the approval and implementation of the branding and communication strategy in the four countries.
On the final day of the meeting, we visited YMCA centers, shops, digital hubs, and offices- meeting staff and learning about the meaningful work the YMCA is delivering across the country.
And the crown jewel of our trip – Camp Pjetershan – an impressive YMCA camp accommodating 70 young people and offering wonderful facilities like sports and training facilities, camp halls and offices, camp dorms, campfire site- a space that can be used for multiple outdoor-oriented activities and a fine example of local, national and international support for a project.
We have been inspired by this meeting, awed by the resilience and determination of the team, and the individual work of every participating YMCA that are creating change in their communities – and we are grateful to be part of it.