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Alumna Mentors Youth at UN Youth Assembly in Kosovo

Kosova Prishtin Know Your Rights Workshop

By Rinë Fetahu (2013-2014, Kosovo, hosted by American Councils PO in Baton Rouge, LA)

As an alumna, I always enjoy working with youth from different backgrounds, especially when the theme of discussion is human rights. Whenever I have the chance to do this, I take the opportunity and enjoy every single moment of it.

On May 15, I was invited to serve as a mentor for a group of young students participating in the Second UN Youth Assembly in Kosovo, the theme of which was Youth Power: Building Peace and Security Together, with a focus on bringing together young leaders from all communities. I was invited in order to share my experiences working with the YES alumni community and developing the Women United for Independence program, which helped young women gain entrepreneurship and employment skills.

My fellow mentors were the developers of Know Your Rights, a platform and app for reporting human rights violations. Together, we discussed with participants ways and tools to identify human rights, and talked about using the platform to report violations of human rights.

The most interesting part of the workshop was when we challenged participants to create an ideal planet in which they set the rules and expectations for citizens. I was impressed by their choices. Rules such as equal rights for everyone and no discrimination were no-brainers and were followed by the creation of fun rules such as giving one compliment each day.

The day ended with new friendships made, and with a bit of contribution to making the world a better place.


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