Young people are playing an increasingly important role in shaping democratic processes across Europe and the Western Balkans. This was the central message of the Youth & Democracy Forum, held on 17–18 June in Tirana and Shkodra, bringing together youth representatives from 11 countries to discuss civic participation, democratic engagement, and the future of European integration. As a partner in the #ENGAGEUROPE project, #CCIS Albania was pleased to contribute to these important discussions, which highlighted both the opportunities and challenges facing young people in today’s rapidly changing social, political, and digital environment.
The first day, in Tirana, fostered a European conversation on civic space and enlargement. Panelists and participating youth described a civic space expanding rapidly across the region, from Albania’s Flamingo movement and the defense of the Vjosa-Narta landscape to Serbia’s leaderless student movement. However, the expansion of the civic space does not automatically guarantee participation of youth coming from marginalized groups, which requires conscious action, to expand civic space to them as well. It was further emphasized that EU membership alone has not settled democratic questions in countries like Croatia, and that the digital arena is at once the great enabler of mobilization and the place where surveillance and disinformation increasingly target civic actors, leaving trust, rather than access to information, as the real challenge.On enlargement, participants made the case that the Western Balkans bring unity, energy, diversity and, above all, people, and that enlargement is now as much about what Europe stands to gain as about what candidates must prove. Speakers argued that leaving the region outside is a strategic gap the Union cannot afford, with the closing reflection that today’s youth no longer have to prove they belong to Europe; the challenge now is participation, not belonging.
The day marked the public launch of ENGAGEUROPE, a project led by SCiDEV and funded by the EU under the CERV Programme, with participants naming the priorities that will shape its upcoming trainings, consultations and youth-led policy work.
ENGAGEUROPE is led by SCiDEV (Albania), and implemented in partnership with Universiteti i Shkodrës “Luigj Gurakuqi” (Albania), Asociación Youropia (Spain), CCIS Albania, Udruženje mladih sa hendikepom Crne Gore – AYDM (Montenegro), Солуција / Solution (North Macedonia), Inicijativa mladih za ljudska prava – Hrvatska (Croatia), Младински образовен форум – МОФ / Youth Educational Forum -YEF (North Macedonia), and YIHR Srbija. The project is funded by the European Union under the #CERV Programme.
