Back to Blog IF

April 6, 2018

21st Century Youngsters

Let me tell you the story of how one congress brought together youth from different places, with different stories, who share common goals with the same passion and strength. I had the chance to be part of this thanks to my work in Artpolis and the sponsorship from IPKO Foundation. The 36th International Arab Youth Congress was organized under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein and this years’ thematic was “21st Century Skills for a Culture of Peace and Prosperity” which tackled topics, such as Communications and Technology, Creativity and Innovation, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving. This Congress’ aim was to lay the groundwork for more effective collaboration and unity at every level in the future by engaging youth from all over the world from both genders at an early age, in exchange for experiences and innovative initiatives, to enable them to fully appreciate their common bonds for a better society in the future.

It is general knowledge that women in Kosovo are often excluded from the field of technology, but when chances like this are presented I know that a lot of young Kosovar women will grab the opportunity and make the best out of it. I consider myself to be a person who is driven by a strong desire to make changes in the community through innovative initiatives and youth empowerment; so my participation in a congress of this magnitude that throughout its’ existence it has gathered more than 3840 youth from around the world, equipped me with useful capacities and new perspective on how to approach social issues in my community that are crucial to my work as a change-maker in the making. During the seven days of the Congress, not only did we share stories of our home countries on the all mentioned topics, but we also had the chance to learn about the way different countries from the Middle East, USA, and the Netherlands empower youth through innovative pathways in order to achieve the wanted results. We all might be familiar with practices used by developed countries, but learning from countries that are in ongoing conflicts was an amazing experience that will allow me to better my skills in almost every single way. The International Arab Youth Congress was an amazing journey and learning experience, made possible by the sponsorship from IPKO Foundation. This sponsorship was my first encounter with the IF family, and hopefully not the last one. That is why through various ways of networking I will make sure to notify people about the incredible opportunities that the IF provides for Kosovar youth.

-Agnesa Xheladini