From September 18 to 21, 2023, in Scutari, Albania, took place the Public Seminary – and the related study visits – of the european project Make it Grow!, promoted by the Erasmus+ –Capacity Building programme concerning Youth; the Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo is part of the project in the role of lead partner.
Twenty people, including administrators and young social entrepreneurs, from the project partner countries (Italy, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Turkey) participated in the activity.
Together with the partners we discussed the status of the project work, adapted our goals and defined the next project steps. The meeting was attended by two youth council members from Arka Youth Center and Eltijana Shkreli, founder of GO2 Albania. The guests’ testimonies were the topic of curiosity and inspiration: the former in the field of youth activism, and the other one in the field of environment and urban planning.
The lunch was organized at the Arti i Zanaves restaurant, established by the NGO "Light Steps," which has been helping and supporting women victims of violence in the area for over twenty years. The director, Denada Shpuza, told us about the history of the association, and the actions taken to provide psychological, legal, economic, and social support to women and girls who are victims of domestic violence. Revenues and donations from the Arti’Zanave restaurant go to the anti-violence service for women.
In the second session of the day, the participants continued working on their project path toward the Hackaton in Turkey. After having each analyzed their own context of reference during the first workshop in Bosnia, in the workshop in Albania they instead began to create and define their project ideas, through a project design workshop developed by the experts of Meraki - Cultural Desires.
The second day, on the other hand, was dedicated entirely to discovering the entrepreneurial realities on the ground. In the morning we visited the textile production lab of the social enterprise "Guri I Zi," which provides employment and income opportunities for vulnerable women in the village of the same name in northern Albania.
Se siete curiosi di seguire lo sviluppo dei progetti dei partecipanti e di sapere cosa accadrà nella prossima mobilità in Montenegro, continuate a seguirci!
● Arka Youth Center
https://www.instagram.com/qendrarinorearkashkoder/
https://www.facebook.com/qendrarinorearka/
● GO2 Albania
https://www.go2albania.org/
● Hapa te Lehte
https://hapatelehte.org/?lang=en
● Guri i Zi Albania
● Drini Times
https://drini-times-water-sport-point.business.site/
● Wellpoint Association
https://wellpointalbania.wordpress.com/
