The Athens Heritage Hub has proudly nominated a Youth Special Task Force for the Balkans (b-YSTF), composed by 10 young heritage professionals, researchers, artists, students and future leaders coming from the Balkans, who met in October 2022, for the first time, and spent several days to work together and formulate suggestions regarding educational, research, and awareness-raising activities focusing on the cultural and natural heritage of the Western Balkans. This imitative has been a proud contribution of Europa Nostra and Elliniki Etairia – Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET) to the European Year of Youth 2022.
On the occasion of this «1st Youth for Heritage Co-Creation Camp for the Western Balkans» the b-YSTF members, who come from various fields such as arts, sciences, architecture, engineering, economics and law, joined their forces to promote, as much as possible, cross-disciplinarity, inclusion and inventiveness in all their works. Upon a series of seminars, guided visits, and workshops, exchanges took place around critical matters of regional concern regarding the protection and defense of the regional biodiversity, cultural and natural heritage.
The Camp lasted one week and took place at the Prespa Environmental Station (PES) managed by ELLET, in Mikorolimni, Greece. The location was carefully selected as Prespa lake is surrounded by 3 countries (Albania, Greece and North Macedonia) and hosts one of Europe’s richest natural reserves and biotopes.
During their stay the b-YSTF members enjoyed a number of activities which allowed them to explore, observe and get in contact with the rich cultural and national heritage of the wider region of Prespa and North-Western Greece (visits, walks and small trips). They also attended presentations given by renowned heritage professionals active in the region as well as representatives of the local civil society. These activities alternated with working sessions/workshops where the young heritage experts joined forces in a friendly and cozy atmosphere, in order to develop practical ideas and concrete outcomes.
Last, leveraging on the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative, the b-YSTF intended to carry out all its works as a suggestion for an innovative process regarding the design of new educational and learning schemes integrating the NEB principles, i.e. sustainability, inclusion, aesthetics. The YSTF for Balkans co-created and delivered a concrete and comprehensive innovative and multi-layered capacity building program for the Western Balkans, whose progressive implementation will be pursued through funding opportunities.
