Multicultural youth work

To break down prejudices without directly addressing ethnic conflicts, the organisation brings young people together through creative leisure projects. Following initial rejection by the Ministry of Education, the grassroots initiative developed the intercultural curriculum directly in collaboration with higher education institutions, transforming the local project for refugees into an official university course offered at twelve universities across six Balkan countries.

• Peace work without taboos: To break down prejudices and mistrust, LOJA brings young people together through creative leisure projects without ever directly mentioning ethnic conflicts.
• A bottom-up (grassroots) approach: As the Ministry of Education initially rejected the project as ‘too early’, the organisation approached the universities directly. They developed the curriculum for intercultural work themselves.
• From a local project to a Balkan network: What began as a small, informal initiative for refugee children in Tetovo is now an official university course for trainee teachers at twelve universities in six countries across the Western Balkans.