Youth Integration for Democracy

Duration: from March until September 2007.
Organiser: European Movement in Serbia
Partner’s organization: European House Zagreb (Croatia), Center for Civic Initiatives (Bosnia and Herzegovina), ADP ZID (Montenegro), Kosovo Youth Network (Kosovo).
Project is supported by National Endowment for Democracy.

Summary: The idea of the project is to gather youth of pro-democratic oriented political parties from Serbia (including Kosovo), Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Their active participation on seminars and internet forum will contribute in process of reconciliation in the region, and encourage cooperation among them.

Target group: Young members of political parties, future decision makers.

Objectives

Reconciliation among members of youth wings of political parties, who are the future decision makers from country areas that have been involved in ethnic clashes during last decade. This project will unmask stereotypes and prejudices and build up trust between target group individuals.
To build and to improve relationships among the youth of pro-democratic oriented political parties.
To improve the youth’s knowledge about regional and Euro-Atlantic integrations and to exchange experience of integration and cooperation process in each of these country area.

Activities

Preparatory - partners’ coordination, assessments of target group, questionnaire, curricula development, selection of participants etc;
Seminars - for the youth of pro-democratic oriented parties – there will be two seminars, one in Serbia and one in Croatia. 30 participants on each seminar( person could participate only on one seminar, woman will be strongly encouraged-on each seminar at least one third of participants should be women, a priority have youth activist from inner towns. Planned activities within seminars include interactive lectures given by eminent experts from all country areas, workshops intended to link participants as much as possible in order to motivate them to develop cooperation between them in the future-simulations, problem solving situations etc. Topics would be: Regional initiatives, Euro-Atlantic integrations, International inter-parties cooperation and integration, visits to relevant institution.

Internet forum - Internet forum will be a permanent channel for exchange of ideas, useful information and experience among participants. Once a month, it will be organized a live chat with a government official involved in regional cooperation or EU integration.