Balkan Exchange Youth Program

The aim of the Balkan Exchange Youth Program is to engage young people in a friendly atmosphere and to get them to exchange their cultures. Our concept iterates between cities in the Balkans, creating a alumni network of former participants and growing the community. The participants learn in the diverse national setting of the host country about the similarities and differences of their cultural background and history. Additionally, each exchange covers a specific topic. The first conference in 2022 was held in Sarajevo and covered the topic of Culture & Migration, this year we will tackle the European identity and prejudice under the topic Culture & Identity. Our program aims to foster international understanding, tolerance and open-mindedness, while at the same time allowing for personal relationships that outlast the exchange week and offer room for further initiatives and cooperation.

The Balkan region caught our attention because it connects parts of Turkey, former Soviet block states and ex-Joguslavian areas together in a cultural and ethnical entity. The countries all share a very common recent history. In the longer periods, especially Turkey (or formerly the Ottoman empire) have also been essential in shaping the cultural identity especially of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Greece and Bulgaria. More recently, the migration patterns, through the Balkan region and out of the Balkan region, have been an important point of discussion in politics, further making clear the need of a connection between them. In uncertain times like these, it is the more important to take a step ahead and actively approach your partners and neighbours. The host mentality of the region allows us to share, eplore and live similarities and differences and to reflect upon our roots and the commons we share in our cultures. The Balkan Exchange Youth Program was created with the concept in mind to hold the conference in alternating cities in the Balkans, also connecting the countries with each other and allowing for dialogue between them. We aim to increase the involved country groups each year, reaching up to 5 or 6 groups, and building an alumni network of former participants.

The upcoming years

• Balkan Exchange Youth Program 2022 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Balkan Exchange Youth Program 2024 in Budva, Montenegro

• Balkan Exchange Yourh Program 2025 in Belgrad, Serbia

• Balkan Exchange Youth Program 2026 in TBD (most likely an EU country)

Learning objectives

• Experiencing that the question of identity can have an effect on worldviews.

• Search inwards for answers for questions raised by the society and regional/global context.

• Learning about your own position in all areas whether they be on an individual, local, regional or global level.

• Learning about stereotypes and how they can grow into prejudice which can be adverse to building bridges between people.

• Lastly, learning as much as possible about one self, the history, everyone around you and the place we are visiting.