Democracy is still very fragile in Kosovo. Women, young people and members of minority groups have a hard time. Solidar Suisse seeks to mobilise young people in various locations. We actively avoid working with secondary schools but focus rather on vocational schools and final-year classes, from which pupils are usually unprepared to enter adult life when they graduate.

Over 200 young people of all ethnicities and genders from six small and large cities learn how democracy works. In close cooperation with our local partner organisation ‘Teach for Kosova’ they founded debating clubs for 15 to 20-year-olds. In the clubs, the young people learn to engage in constructive discussions about issues that impact them. They agree on the most important concerns in relation to young people, gender justice and integration of minorities. They develop projects that they can file to a jury comprised of members of our partner organisation, government agencies, schools and young people. The six best projects are selected and provided with support for their implementation. This enables various actors to connect and jointly implement projects that benefit the community but that may not have been run otherwise.