Pallati i Kultures "Laberia", kati i pare, Vlore, Albania
Vlore
Albania
- Arts
- Democracy and community development
- Environment/Sustainable development
- Gender
- Human rights
- International/Cultural relations
- Media
- Youth and education
Vlora Youth Center is a non-profit organization operating in the Vlora Region with public interest in mind, for the respect of human rights and democracy, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, wiht respect to the law and international agreements. The bodies of VYC are: Assembly of Members, Executive Council, The President. The staff of the organization is composed 4 full time and 2 part time employees.
Euro VYC work is focused on: 1) Direct engagement of the youth as agents of change at the local level. 2) Cooperation with local authorities by developing common strategies. VYC has collaborated with different donors and agencies: OPIC, European Union, US Embassy in Tirana, USAID, UNICEF, Marche Regional Authority, Italian Consortium of Solidarity, UNDP etc.
The organization is based on the principles of justice and social and economic solidarity, democratic participation in the life of the community, promotional of civil, social and human rights, and voluntarism. • The Center undertakes and supports the development of youth policies and promotion of human rights and social integration of people in need. We pay particular attention to the situation and difficulties of children, youth, people with disabilities and women. • The Center has the objective to offer youth and children, without political, religious, cultural, gender, race or nationality discrimination, services to benefit their integration in work, study and society as a whole. • The Center has the objective to promote international relations of youth, with the objective of reinforcing the relation between populations and cultural collaboration. In this field the Center tends to promote principles of peaceful coexistence between populations and nationalities.
Main Projects: “Youth empowerment through participation and monitoring policies in local level” January 2012 – December 2015, financed by Sweden and Olof Palme International Center "Actions at local level to promote innovative ideas of building partnerships between men and women for gender equality and a society free from violence" September 2015- September 2016, financed by UNDP Albania "Empowerment of first time voters as gender equality advocates for local election 2015" May 2015-October 2015, financed by UN Women Albania "Vlora Youth Vote" April 2015- September 2015, financed by Embassy of the United States in Tirana SOCIALNET – Social and cooperative cluster of cross-border cooperation January 2013 – June 2014, financed by Delegation of European Union in Albania, IPA CBC Greece - Albania Activities: • Campaigns and extracurricular training programs that promote youth and community participation in elections, decision-making processes, gender equality and civic participation. • Career education and employment counseling for young people through youth entrepreneurship development and financial management skills training courses • Youth Networking in and out of the country • Social, health and education services to at risk groups • Environmental, sports and cultural activities to promote environmental awareness and healthy lifestyles at an early age
VYC has been working with the community of Vlorë for many years. Through strong networking we have developed open communication with the Municipality, community leaders and centers of influence, youth, NGOs and community members. We have developed a positive image and reputation as an organization that was created by the people of Vlorë and for them. Anna Lindh Foundation has a mission to promote various matters ranging from religion, areas of cultural convergence, tolerance, cultural understanding, avoidance of stereotypes, etc. We believe that our organization has a strong understanding of promoting various causes including those in your mission. The ability of an organization to mobilize members of their community to promote a cause, whether it is gender equality or religious tolerance, is of the upmost importance. Our long standing positive image and work history has given us the ability to mobilize community members in large numbers to promote various causes which include but are not limited to: gender equality, first time voter education, development of a youth action plan along with the local Municipality, open forums with Mayoral candidates to discuss community issues at large, and much more.
VYC is consistently looking to continue our collaborative efforts with various NGOs and community based organizations. We believe that working with organizations from the Euro Mediterranean partnership will allow us to learn and share best practices, conduct civil society exchanges, promote an understanding of cultures, and much more which are missions of Anna Lindh Foundation. As an organization that was built organically from the ground up we understand the importance of collaboration and working jointly with others to promote various matters. Our organization has thrived due to our networking abilities and we want to continue this through ALF and branch outside of our country to work with partners who we hope will provide us with new and inspirational insight.