St. Reshit Collaku, Godina 14, Hyrja 1, Apt 17, Tirana
1001
Tirana
Albania
- Democracy and community development
- Human rights
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- International/Cultural relations
- Media
- Others
- Youth and education
The Young Professionals Network (YPN) is a non-governmental organization, by a group of young people who had a common vision on the issues that young professionals are facing today in Albania. The Network of Young Professionals has been established in the framework of creating and developing professional and social opportunities for Albanian youth; the need of sharing skills and opportunities among each other and the challenges faced on the labour market that indicate migration as well.
Young Professionals Network aims to strengthen Albanian society and develop active citizenship through the empowerment and involvement of young professionals. What has guided the mission and work of YPN is the desire to support, to create opportunities for participation for young people or to bring them closer to professional, social and academic development opportunities and decent work environments including all young people. YPN is located in the capital of Albania, Tirana, but its focus and mission extends to all regions, where many different projects have been implemented.
Main objectives of YPN: 1. Economic empowerment and transition to the labour market of young professionals through skills development and networking 2. Increasing participation of young professionals in decision-making and policy-making processes through structured dialogue and advocacy 3. Fostering the civic engagement of young people on local, national, regional, and European levels 4. Strengthening young professionals’ labour rights by involving them in informative activities, monitoring, and advocating processes
Main Projects / Activities
1. Economic Empowerment and Social Rights
The programme aims to empower youth to enter the labor market through skill development, employability policies, and labor rights. It integrates unemployed youth into the market, stabilizes their career entry, and promotes vocational training. Activities include sharing employment information, building capacity through training, promoting labor rights, providing networking opportunities, and contributing to global thought leadership on youth and labor conditions.
2. Civic Engagement and Advocacy for Democracy
The programme aims to foster a democratic society by promoting active citizenship, rule of law, and local democracy. It supports advocacy with local bodies to strengthen laws and conventions, involving youth in campaigns for transparency and accountability, lobbying for legal improvements, and promoting fair policies. The program also encourages youth participation in decision-making processes and enacts tangible change within communities. It works with youth from rural areas and marginalized groups to create opportunities for civic leadership and participation, focusing on both formal and informal ways to exercise civic leadership and collective power.
3. Peace and Security
This programme aims to empower youth as peace agents, preventing conflict, reducing inequalities, and fostering sustainable peace. It emphasizes youth-inclusive considerations in peace and political processes, advocating for gender-sensitive initiatives to uphold women's rights and end violence. YPN promotes an inclusive network for youth actors, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and inter-community exchange through early employment, education, vocational training, and political engagement.
Current projects and collaborations are:
Opportunities for Decent Work: Young professionals benefiting from the labour code. YPN after a doing several research, meetings with students and national questionnaires to understand the perceptions and knowledge of young people in Albania regarding their rights and obligations in their workplace has launched for the first time a national need assessment study “Young Professionals and Labour Rights”. The purpose of the report is to address the lack of information that youth have about their rights and obligations in the workplace and to get input regarding the layout and main components of the platform. The report further aims to stimulate more research into young opportunities and labour rights in order to provide inventive approaches. InfoPuna, a platform that provides information and offers guidance on work rights, discrimination, abuses, advocacy, and resolution techniques. It was created utilizing the idea of design thinking. With two primary parts dedicated to referral mechanisms and crucial information regarding youth employment rights and duties, it seeks to sustain the process of educating young people about their labour rights. Feedback is available in real time from visitors.
Symposium of Young Professionals on Transatlantic Alliance in Western Balkans – Annual Forum of Young Professionals 2023
The Annual Forum of Young Professionals 2023, held in Tirana, Albania, with this year’s theme “Cooperation, Security, Values: NATO in a changing world” and focused on the evolving security architecture of NATO in the Western Balkans. The forum, supported by NATO Public Diplomacy and the U.S. Embassy Tirana, brought together 25 young professionals from various backgrounds, including government, regional organizations, think tanks, academia, and civil society. The forum aimed to analyze NATO's current standing in the region and discuss its future outlooks. The forum featured distinguished speakers and panelists, who contributed unique viewpoints.
The Young Professionals Network is currently drafting a manifesto document to address the challenges discussed, promoting democratic stability, countering disinformation, enhancing cyber-security measures, and fostering youth engagement. Boosting social cohesion in the Yzberisht zone by empowering youth professionally and personally This project aims to break the marginalization cycle in the zone of Yzberisht by empowering young people with professional skills that can enable them to participate in the market work and to undertake actions/initiatives in local community. This intervention with the focus of training young people and giving them the opportunity to conduct internships in different institutions in Tirana will boost firstly their inclusion in society and strengthening their engagement as active citizens in local community. By empowering the role of youth in local communities they will be connected and socialized with their peers by social activities, other development opportunities and above all ensuring their participation in market work.
Western Balkan Youth Lab on Mental Health Western Balkans Youth Lab (WBYL) project is a three-year project aimed to create a long-term, structured regional dialogue between youth organizations and public authorities, focused on the joint development of policies that increase the participation of young people in decision-making, in order to improve the overall socio-economic environment and the flexibility of youth in the Western Balkans. Project is successfully coordinating Thematic Youth Policy Lab on Mental Health where youth on equal basis with policymakers are engage in policy development or policy evaluation revisions based on the principles of co-management and co-production. Within the process in Albania, informative and awareness Toolkit on Mental Health of young people (15-29 years old) was published for the first time. The conception and drafting of this document come as the result of the Action Plan drafted by the Working Group from Albania consisting of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Institute of Public Health, National Youth Agency, Young Professionals Network, National Youth Congress, and the National Network for Young people in Albania. This group is co-chaired by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and Young Professionals Network.
Youth Kult Zone
Youth KULT is a project full of series which are focused and curated online talks to bring a community of changemakers together through food, music, dance, art, and other cultural aspects of society. In essence, Youth KULT encourages and enables youth to plan and implement activities promoting collaboration and sharing. The goal is to create common visions, through understanding different youth from diverse communities, and stepping out of hard‐wired mindsets into global mindsets for sustainable peace in the region. The project aims to foster intercultural dialogue, using digital media as a platform for social change and connection.
The establishment of the Young Professionals Network in Albania has been one of the recommendations of several meetings and reports held for young people in Albania and is in line with some of the goals of the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027 specifically in Connecting EU with Youth; Equality of All Genders; Inclusive Societies; Information & Constructive Dialogue; Moving Rural Youth Forward; Quality Employment for All; Quality Learning; Space and Participation for All; Youth Organizations & European Programs contributing in this way to increase the quality of life of young professionals in Albania, reduce migration and positively influence the process of Albania's integration in the EU. Young Professionals Network by disseminating information to the youth network and organizations we will contribute to the network with our experience, capacity, professionalism and integrity. We are good partners and work with responsibility.
The Anna Lindh Foundation runs the largest Network of civil society organizations involved in the promotion of intercultural dialogue across the Euro-Mediterranean region and we believe we can contribute to that aim. We are also looking forward to expand our network and to create future collaborations. We would like to share best practices and experience within our national Network, and with Networks of other countries.