Today, we held an online contract signing ceremony for grants supporting two more initiatives focused on young people, with 15,000 BAM. The Institute for Youth Development KULT supported the Youth Center “Zdravo da ste” from Banja Luka and Education Center “Nahla” in Tuzla.
The Youth Center was forced to leave their premises, which have become well-known among Banja Luka’s youth. Nevertheless, Banja Luka will not lose its Youth Center, because their team found a new location in the Mladen Stojanović park. Starting from the ground up is always hard and takes a lot of investment, which is why the Institute decided to help the Youth Center adapt the new space to meet the needs of their users – young people of Banja Luka. Aleksandra Štrbac, Executive Director of “Zdravo da ste!” said that the space is largely adapted for persons with disabilities. It has a wheelchair ramp and accessible toilet facilities, but the entrance remains to be adapted. That is why they decided to invest some of the funds into making the space entirely accessible to people with disabilities. Once the epidemiological situation has improved, young people will be able to conduct and take part in various kinds of activities in this youth center.
The group of young people running the Educational Center “Nahla” in Tuzla will clean and landscape the green space at Kicelj, a popular observation point in Tuzla. They want to lead by example and show the importance of environmental protection while doing something that benefits their city. They are planning to involve other organizations and youth groups in implementing this initiative. The originator of this idea, Fatima Fazlović, says that the goal is to include as many young people as possible to ensure that the observation point is kept clean and suitable for activities. She says that they will use the observation point as a site for various educational activities for youth, taking advantage of Tuzla’s natural potential. Fatima says that the observation point and the beautiful view it offers could become a tourist attraction, which means that their initiative could be the driving force behind some important changes.
The new grantees thanked the Institute for the support, which was sorely needed in current circumstances when a lot of activities have been suspended indefinitely. In addition to financial support, the Institute will be providing mentorship during the implementation of these initiatives.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden supports the Institute in implementing the fund for supporting youth activities.
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