LBO-Albania

The RYCO Local Branch Office (LBO) in Albania is based in Tirana and operates throughout Albania. Its mission is to support youth, civil society organizations (CSOs), high schools, and youth workers through regional mobility programs and local activities that promote regional youth cooperation and the reconciliation process in the Western Balkans.

The LBO in Albania acts as a vital link between Albanian youth and the broader Western Balkans, helping ensure that RYCO’s core values and long-term strategic goals are implemented at the local level. The work of the Head Office and all LBOs became operational in 2017.

Open Calls: Through five open calls, 19 Albanian CSOs were supported as lead organizations for regional projects. More than 25 Albanian CSOs also collaborated as partners in projects led by other RYCO Contracting Parties, contributing to exchanges involving more than 500 young people from Albania.
Superschools: Across two program cycles, 27 secondary schools from Albania participated in bilateral school exchanges, engaging more than 280 students.
Western Balkans Youth Cultural Fund: 4 CSOs, 3 individuals, and 2 “Peace Champions” from Albania were supported to implement cultural initiatives.
RISE: More than 30 young people from Albania developed social business ideas through the incubation phase, while 8 teams received financial support to implement their businesses.
Jeunes des 2 Rives – J2R: The program built a network of 80 organizations and associations from France, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Albania, and Lebanon. Four Albanian CSOs were actively involved.
MIRAI: 11 young people from Albania had the opportunity to travel to Japan through the Western Balkans Meet Japan program.
Local initiatives: The LBO organized capacity-building training for 20 high-school teachers; nine editions of Youth Trails involving more than 100 young people; three Youth Festival editions with more than 300 young people; four Reconciliation Seminars with more than 100 political science students; and Youth Voices for Stronger Communities, which trained 102 young people across six Albanian cities. Youth Talks and informational sessions have also contributed to engagement across 15 cities.