From August 24 to September 20, 2020, via Zoom platform, the National Youth Council of Serbia, together with the Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized the first digital youth exchange and training My world depends on us for over 20 young people from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This exchange and training were not initially intended to take place online, but intended to provide participants with the opportunity to travel and network with each other, as well as with decision makers, in person. However, the situation with COVID-19, like everything else, hindered us and made it impossible for us to implement such activities. For that reason, we had to switch to remote work with young people and seek for creative alternatives.

Although we were skeptical at the beginning, after a little over a month of work and once our online gatherings came to an end, we can conclude that we are beyond happy that we embarked on an adventure called digital youth multicultural exchange.

Through work with our trainers, the participants introduced themselves, their communities and socialized with and befriended their peers from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also learned and discussed about youth policy and its actors, youth participation, human rights and the values they share, as well as worked with decision makers and had the opportunity to hear various examples of good practice of youth activism, but also to present some.

Although the digital exchange is over, the networking and friendships of young people continue. In the following months, with the support of their mentors and KOMS and VMFBiH teams, they will have the opportunity to implement initiatives that will seek to improve their local communities and will intend to include other young people from Serbia and BiH in their activities.

The National Youth Council of Serbia and the Youth Council of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are implementing the project Culture of Dialogue within the Joint UN Regional Programme “Dialogue for the Future: Promoting Dialogue and Social Cohesion in and Between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Republic of Serbia” is implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, and UNESCO, with the support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund.