“Speak Out Youth!” – Rally by Youth and Students for Peace #Albania
Saturday October 26 2019
Palace of Congresses, Tirana, Albania
Youth and Students for Peace Albania hosted a youth peace festival and rally under the theme, “Speak out youth!” Over 2,400 young people, mainly high-school and university students, attended the event and approximately five hundred of them came from neighbouring countries or elsewhere in Europe. The event saw speakers such as the Vice-Mayor of Tirana, Mrs. Anisa Ruseti, and International President of Youth and Students for Peace, Mr. Koji Matsuda.
The purpose of the event was to encourage youth to believe in their own voice, and an example scenario that was addressed involved their ability to take responsibility for their country and community through their own efforts. The reason this message is necessary is the general lack of faith among Albanian youth in their own country and their desire to leave the country instead of remaining and resolving the existing problems.
A central part of the program was a speaking program called S!nergy in which Albanian youth presented peace projects they had initiated themselves. In total, eight projects were presented that support different Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) including SDG 3(Good health and well-being), SDG 4 (Quality education), SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 13 (Climate action). The winning projects received a financial grant for their further development. The purpose of the speaking program was also to inspire the participating youth to understand their own capability to serve their communities through volunteering.
