KOMF held the meeting of the Thematic Group for Education and Youth at the premises of the member organization, HANDIKOS in Pristina.

The purpose of the meeting was to reorganize the Group based on the Needs Assessment Report, to discuss the main issues to be addressed in the field of education and youth, as well as to set the group’s priorities in order to draw up an action plan. Also, since the meeting was held at the premises of the organization HANDIKOS, together we saw closely the premises, work and services offered by this organization.

The Thematic Group on Education and Youth will focus on addressing the issues of education empowerment and youth empowerment. Some of the possible areas of advocacy, monitoring and awareness raising of this thematic group will include:

• Friendly schools with safe and supportive environments: Policies that promote safe, inclusive and supportive environments where students feel valued and protected.
• Dropout prevention: Advocacy for dropout prevention and early intervention programs.
• Inclusion: Advocating for an inclusive education system that meets the individual and diverse needs of children, an education system that promotes full participation and integration.
• Access to quality education: Promoting equal access to quality education for all children, including those from vulnerable groups.
• Investment in education: Increase investments in education to ensure that children have quality education.
• Youth empowerment and engagement: Promoting youth participation and engagement, including youth-led advocacy initiatives, creating spaces and processes that empower young people and contribute to positive change.
• Professional training of young people.

The meeting was supported by “SMART Balkans – Civil Society for Shared Society in the Western Balkans” regional project implemented by the Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD), Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA).