The Western Balkans Youth Forum was held in Tirana on 6 and 7 October,2023, organised by the Regional Office for Youth Cooperation (RYCO). This Forum has been organized for the third year on the side-lines of the Berlin Process Summit. The choice of the host country this year was natural, given that this year’s Berlin Process Summit is going to be held on 16 October in the capital of Albania, which also chairs the RYCO Steering Board. The goal of the Forum is to serve as a platform for youth participation in a key event that contributes to the EU integration process of the Western Balkans region.

The Forum gathered more than 90 participants, including young people from the region, ministers, representatives of institutions, and various local and regional stakeholders. The central event of the Youth Forum was the Youth Balkan Express – a train journey from Elbasan to Durrës, during which young people and decision-makers discussed the three key topics of the Berlin Declaration: resilient democracies, inclusive peace and security and sustainable development. Traveling by train was chosen as a symbolic activity of infrastructural connectivity, which has been the goal of the Berlin Process from the very beginning, as well as the need to improve it throughout the entire Western Balkans region.

The second day of the Western Balkans Youth Forum was held in the Pyramid of Tirana, where representatives of the thematic groups presented the action plans that they had defined on the pillars of the Berlin Youth Declaration the day before in the Youth Balkan Express.

Advisor to the Minister, Anita Vlašić, participated in the Forum on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports.