Press release for the Youth Inaugural Conference of the Forum for Cities in Transition

Mitrovica will host the first Youth conference of the Forum for Cities in Transition (FCT) from 23 to 27 September 2013.This exciting conference brings together youth representatives from ten cities from four continents for a working week in the city of Mitrovica.The conference delegates will be discussing the role of youth in their cities that have emerged from conflict, are still in transition from conflict and some still deeply in conflict . The delegates will discuss their future cooperation, preplanning of projects, mutual activities, networking, educational opportunities, use of social media, and youth activism.

The delegates will also experience life in Mitrovica, visiting projects and sites where citizens have come together to overcome difficulties in their everyday lives. The programme includes site visits, a picnic along the banks of the river, and a

concert by Mitrovica’s very own Rock School. Conference delegates will be guided through the week by a team of 20 local volunteers both from north and south of the river Ibar.

The Youth Forum for Cities in Transition is part of the Forum for Cities in Transition established in Boston in April 2009 by founding representatives from Kirkuk, Nicosia, Derry/Londonderry and Mitrovica. It is supported by the Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation McCormack Graduate School of Global and Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the Northern Ireland Foundation, Belfast.

Representatives from Tripoli - Lebanon, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry – Northern Ireland, Jerusalem - Israel, Kaduna - Nigeria, Kirkuk - Iraq, Mostar – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ramallah – Palestine, and Nicosia – Cyprus will join a delegation from Mitrovica - Kosovo for this diverse and truly international conference. Director of the Forum, Professor Padraig O’Malley, calls this inaugural conference in Mitrovica a historic event for the city. “When the Forum for Cities in Transition was created, few cities really believed that Mitrovica could rise to the occasion. Mitrovica has not only risen to the occasion, it has surpassed all expectations. On this occasion of the first Youth Forum of the Forum for Cities in Transition, Mitrovica once again leads the way having put together representation from the youth of 10 divided cities that no one would have believed possible 4 years ago. This is to be a truly magnificent event that bears witness to what the youth in divided cities can do when they collaborate with each other.”

The Youth Forum for Cities in Transition is organized by two partner organizations Community Building Mitrovica and D&G Solution both from Mitrovica north and south. The conference is generously supported by: US Embassy in Prishtina, NGO SPARK from the Netherlands, The Netherlands Embassy in Prishtina, Norvegian Embassy in Prishtina, UNDP, Mitrovica Municipality, International Business College Mitrovica, Forum for Cities in Transition, IKV Pax Christi and Mitrovica Forum “Mitrovicians for Mitrovica.

Press Release (Albanian)