TIRANA, Oct 19 /ATA/ The Minister of State for Youth and Children, Bora Muzhaqi, participated in the launch event of the Youth Progress Index prepared by the European Youth Forum in order to highlight the progress of youth development in more than 150 countries.
In her welcoming speech, Minister Muzhaqi chose to start with the positive evaluations for Albania, provided by the European Youth Forum.
“Proud of Albania for the progress in the field of youth presented by the 2023 Youth Progress Index prepared by the European Youth Forum. Albania was evaluated at 74.3 points, out of 100 in total. It is one of the 3 countries with the highest progress in the world in the last 12 years.
Since 2011, Albania has climbed 8 positions in the world ranking for 150+ countries”, said the minister.
Muzhaqi said that at a time when progress in the field of youth has come to standstill even in more developed countries, Albania is positively evaluated for empowering young people, providing services of high standards and opportunities that are created day to day for young people in accordance with their demands and the labor market.
In the report of the Youth Progress Index, it is evident that while the progress of youth in Europe has come to a standstill, Albania has achieved the highest progress in the last 12 years, since 2011 when it ranked 68, out of over 150 countries.
“We’ve moved up eight places and actually gained seven points, which is quite impressive, and to be honest, it’s a moment for us to sit back and realize what we’ve done well and what we can still do better “, said the minister.
Muzhaqi pointed out several other initiatives related to financing youth activities, empowering the voice of young people and their well-being.
Regarding the financing of youth projects and various activities for the empowerment of young people, Muzhaqi added that “another initiative is to increase the transparency and efficiency of the National Youth Agency”.
“I know that sometimes when we talk about countries like Albania or maybe the Western Balkans in general, it is difficult to understand that our methodology and way of thinking is a little different from the EU, therefore, we have borrowed the methodology used by the UN and the EU for grants and we applied to the National Youth Agency”, said Muzhaqi.
She also emphasized that from January 2023, the Extracurricular Program has been implemented in Albania, which has included about 10,000 young people who have registered for free in art, crafts, technology, environment, agriculture and empowerment through self-defense.
“These courses are offered to them for free by the government to ensure better inclusion for young people, including vulnerable groups, creating opportunities for them to focus on developing their talents,” Muzhaqi said.
/m.m/r.e/sm/
