Empowering Youth Voices: A Journey of Collaboration and Inclusion in Mollina – by Lana Radović

This year, once again, OBESSU was welcomed by the University on Youth and Development to take part in the event held from 14th to 21st September in Mollina, Spain, focusing on the annual theme of Empowering Youth for Digital Safety. Out of around 250 participants of the event from across the world, 15 of us young individuals from Europe gathered to work together on some of the most pressing issues facing today’s society. The workshops organised by OBESSU included discussions on feminism, gender equality, intersectionality, discrimination, and, more broadly, fundamental human rights. Besides the discussions, we have also held debates and group projects so that as a team we could combine all of each other’s ideas and thoughts that could lead to potential solutions. 

Throughout the teamwork, we learned that coming from different cultures provides diverse perspectives on situations, and by ensuring everyone’s inclusion, we became highly effective as a team. Along with covering the previously mentioned topics, we have also reflected on the NGOs and countries we come from, which helped us identify the issues we can address ourselves as their representative.

Lots of the workshops led by trainer Ema Bogdanović, a previous member of UNSS, were both inspiring and engaging to participate in. All of us felt very connected and heard, as we were always able to express how we felt from the very beginning of the sessions.

Additionally, there were presentations on IMPACT, the Council of Europe (COE) and the European Youth Foundation (EYF) to which Sophie Kwasnyi, the Head of Education, Training and Cooperation of the Youth Department of COE, joined us. 

Alongside the workshops, we were able to meet with others of 200 wonderful people while attending the sessions, we shared all together. That gave us the time to exchange the experiences from our own workshops as well as to hear from others what they had acknowledged from theirs. It was an unforgettable week for all of us, taking part in a new initiative where our voices could contribute to addressing some of the world’s challenges. It all gave us hope for a better world.

I had an incredible experience with everyone, and I am very thankful to be part of something life-changing like this. 

Thank you, OBESSU team, for this opportunity, and I wish that anyone reading this could one day visit Mollina and feel the same inspiration and joy as we all did.  

Written by Lana Radović, from UNSCG, Montenegro.