Youth from Preševo and Bujanovac: A community is stronger when your voice is heard

In early June, a group of thoughtful, engaged, and curious young people from Preševo and Bujanovac spent a day at the NGO “Atina” in Belgrade. We got to know each other, talked, and exchanged ideas that matter to all of us: what everyday life is like for young people in multiethnic communities, how they deal with violence, pressure, and discrimination, and what they can do to make the society they live in more just and safer.

This group of young people is currently participating in an internship program run by Civic Initiatives. Through this program, they spend several months in various institutions and organizations in Belgrade—listening, learning, observing, and understanding how things work in practice. The goal is to bring that knowledge and those ideas back to their communities.

The conversation at “Atina” was open and sincere. We discussed topics of vital importance with a lot of energy and a strong desire to effect real change. A particular focus was placed on the role of young people in the fight against human trafficking and violence, as well as on how everyone in society should see this issue as their own and take part in solving it.

Zorana Parezanović, program coordinator at the NGO “Atina”, emphasized that these young people know best what they need. “They are the ones who can spark changes that come from their community, from people they know and live with. That’s why we see them as our important partners, not just as someone who will create change someday – they are already doing it now.”

And indeed, they are. Some are doing it quietly but persistently. Like Alejna, who is currently interning at BeFem and recently organized an event in Bujanovac focused on networking and empowering women through entrepreneurship. Or Kushtrim, who spent part of his internship with the Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia and Center E8, and is organizing the first Valley Film Festival in Bujanovac this July, which connects the local and international art scenes.

Jana Aleksić from Civic Initiatives noted: “When young people are allowed to participate in programs like this, something changes — they begin to believe that their voice matters. Through hands-on work and experience, they discover not only what they want to do, but also what kind of society they want to build.”

Through encounters like this, connections are strengthened, ideas turn into action, and young people increasingly become what they truly are — the voice of their community, capable of asking, proposing, and driving change.