The Youth Network of Montenegro hosted the inauguration event for the Connecting Youth Initiative 2024 in Podgorica, Montenegro, on March 17th and 18th, 2024.
Podgorica served as the venue for the launch of the Connecting Youth Initiative 2024, a platform dedicated to nurturing youth connectivity and empowerment throughout the Western Balkans region. Central to this initiative is the objective of enhancing youth connectivity in the Balkans by furnishing a unique and tailored environment for young activists to convene, strategize, execute, and express their initiatives.
Referred to as Connecting Youth, this platform offers numerous avenues for youth involvement for the eighth consecutive year. The kick-off event in Podgorica inaugurated a series of activities and engagements under the umbrella of the Connecting Youth Initiative 2024. Ranging from tours of the Montenegrin Parliament to enriching panel discussions and team-building exercises, the event facilitated substantive dialogue and cooperation among youth leaders and stakeholders from the Western Balkans region.
The Kickoff Meeting, organized by the Youth Network of Montenegro, united partners at the Parliament of Montenegro and Europe House in Podgorica. Here, the team convened to deliberate on the operational priorities for 2024. This year, the Connecting Youth platform will compile a new report on the status of National Youth Councils in the Western Balkans region, serving as a valuable resource for evidence-based advocacy efforts.
The Connecting Youth platform consists of youth organizations from the Western Balkans, and this is a platform that represents a space for networking, planning, and joint action by young people from the region. The platform’s activities are coordinated by the Cooperation and Development Institute CDI with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.