Sara and Aleksa were among the 18 students that participated in the European Youth Academy, organized by the European Centre in the frame of Tirana Youth Capital, with students from the region aiming to promote and share the values of each country in Western Balkans.

According to them, the region shares the same values and issues. “In our region, where we share a complicated history and high-tension relations, it is especially important for young people and future decision-makers to move beyond the mistakes of past generations”, they state.

The academy was structured to give an opportunity to youngsters from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Albania to share ideas and discuss common topics that concern their countries. Also, the academy was built to be used as a future cooperation platform for engaging the youth in the current EU affairs.

“The topics, lecturers, and the dynamics of the academy were on an impeccable level, where we had the opportunity to learn even about the topics that we believed we knew a lot about. The discussions, case-study exercises, and the atmosphere gave us a sense of optimism and hope for the future of the EU accession process, as well as a thorough knowledge of the different approaches, their pros and cons, sustainability of our nation’s efforts, and the involvement of youth in that process. We both can say that we haven’t had the opportunity to listen to a such high-quality type of lectures, that was both highly informative, but at the same time interactive and engaging before attending the Academy”, Sara Čabarkapa and Aleksa Janković state.

Also, they want to share the knowledge from the European Youth Academy and see it as a need to give back and educate our peers, family, colleagues, and the public, especially on EU integration-related issues. The EU accession report introduction in Montenegro is seen as an opportunity for Sara and Aleksa. “As the new EU accession report was just presented to our government and public, there will be many possibilities to organize training and learning opportunities that would impact the capacity of young people in the decision-making process and EU integration”, they say, adding that “the Academy gave us an optimistic outlook on the individual and collective efforts to fight Euroscepticism and reintegrate the idea of adopting and living by EU values and standards to the public of Montenegro”.

Currently, their approach is to discuss with the civil society representatives the importance of including such topics that we covered in the academy in their workflow and plans for youth training.