Within the framework of the EU co-funded Inclusive Evolution (InEvo) 2024 initiative, the VIEWS team, along with our ESC volunteer Patricia, attended the Partnership Networking Conference from 13 to 15 July in the charming Albanian capital, Tirana.
The three-day event was organised by the Romanian NGO Asociația Babilon Travel to bring together long-standing partners active in the Erasmus+/ESC Programmes, as well as in local, national and international projects.
At the Partnership Networking Conference, attendees had the opportunity to strengthen their cooperation through engaging sessions which included partners’ presentations and target groups, best practices developed in recent years, productive panel discussions on the current organisations’ needs and expectations, and group activities aimed to design effective project concept notes in the field of youth, higher and adult education, VET, and volunteering mobilities.
One of the key highlights was the discussion of each organisation’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis) in an open and supportive environment. Each partner shared their useful approaches and methods for overcoming challenges and actively suggested ways to improve teamwork.
We highly appreciated the engagement, motivation, effort and commitment demonstrated by the partners, as their specific actions prioritise addressing their target groups’ needs. We were also pleasantly surprised that everyone stepped out of their comfort zone to contribute and engage with topics related to digital transition, fighting climate change, active participation in democratic life, and inclusion and diversity, even when their organisations did not specifically focus on all priorities.
Furthermore, we could rely on the valuable contributions of our ESC volunteer, who provided suitable and on-point remarks.
Patricia, our ESC volunteer, took part in a PBA activity for the first time. Her insightful observations brought a new perspective into the event, offering first-hand testimony of the impact of an adapted ESC project, as well as thorough and well-informed points of view on key topics such as participation, inclusion and diversity. She shared with us her personal experience at the Partnership Networking Conference in Tirana:
“I was very curious to finally visit Albania, as I had never been there and I often wondered what it was like there. I was very pleased to find welcoming and open-minded people who were happy to offer support.
The conference was a great opportunity for me to grasp the grounds of project design, exchange opinions and experiences with other organisations engaged in youth work, and even expand my language skills. I really enjoyed being able to contribute in representing VIEWS International, our activities and my experience as a volunteer in an adapted ESC project, and to learn more about the other organisations’ work and values. I have also found it useful to learn how to draft and implement a project from start to finish, as well as the steps to build a successful project.
Despite the challenge of having to speak in public in a language that I understand well but that I’m still learning to master, I was happy to bring my contribution, share my experience and support my colleagues in all the activities”
Attending this partnership-building activity with Asociația Babilon Travel (Romania), Peace Volunteering Network (Albania), Council for Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency – SSPMD (North Macedonia), Karabaǧlar Governorship Türkiye (Türkiye) and Eesti People to People (Estonia) encouraged us to further involved in projects tackling contemporary challenges faced by youth with fewer opportunities. Lastly, it also motivated us to explore new ways to advocate for equal rights for all in new international activities and collaborations.
