Youth Exchange as a Motor for Regional Cooperation?
Youth Exchange as a Motor for Regional Cooperation?

Summary/Abstract: In July 2016, the governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia signed the agreement for the establishment of the „Regional Youth Cooperation Office“ (RYCO), a new institutional mechanism which will support the development of youth exchange in the Western Balkans. This new institution did not come out of nowhere: Since the end of the Yugoslav break-up wars, there have been different regional youth exchange projects, including discussions about possible forms of institutional support for these encounters. But it was only in 2014, within the framework of the “Berlin Process”, that the governments of the region took up the idea. Besides the political will of the governments, other decisive factors for the establishment of RYCO have been the support from external actors and the active involvement of civil society representatives. The article examines different stages which led to the creation of RYCO. It discusses challenges for RYCO and the potential impact the future institution might have not only on young people, but also on the relationship between governments and civil society and on regional cooperation in general within the Western Balkans.egio

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