The Story of Solidarity Action Day – Get to know the initiative that we broke regional records with!

We brought Solidarity Action Day to Kosovo for the first time this year, thanks to the tireless work of over 50 young people who were engaged in the Youth Leaders Academy. These leaders enthusiastically connected Kosovo’s youth with businesses they worked for on that day, and the compensation for their work was donated to the Solidarity Action Day Fund. This fund brought two meaningful youth projects to life.

Let’s start from the beginning – What were some of the achievements of Solidarity Action Day?

In the first year of implementing Solidarity Action Day, we achieved remarkable results.

• 6 days of voluntary work (June 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, and 10)
• 275 engaged volunteers
• 25 businesses raised 4,332 Euros for the Solidarity Action Day Fund
• 14 sponsors in various forms
• 55 committed Youth Leaders
• Two causes were selected to be supported by the Solidarity Action Day Fund, which are Mental Health among Youth and Children with Special Needs.

What happened after Solidarity Action Day?

To give more meaning to the relentless work of the volunteers on this Day, we opened a call for Youth Projects to be supported by the Solidarity Action Day Fund. This call was open to Non-Governmental Organizations working in the fields of Mental Health for Youth and Children with Special Needs. We received a total of 15 applications from enthusiastic and highly ambitious NGOs. The winning organizations that impressed us with their vision were Down Syndrome Kosovo (DSK) and the Center for Psychosocial and Medical Research (QHPSM).

What did the winning organizations do?

DSK, through the “Small Acts, Big Impact” project, organized 3 workshops with 25 children with Down syndrome who had the opportunity to improve their speech and social and communication skills. The workshops focused on visual support for routines, motor skill development, and irregular drawing.

Meanwhile, QHPSM, through the “Empowerment Glossary: Chronicles of Mental Health in Kosovo through the Words of Youth” project, organized a 3-day training with young people aged 16-24 from all over Kosovo. They were provided with training and guidance to write articles on mental health. Through this training, they developed skills to better research, write, and evaluate aspects related to this important social issue.

What’s next? 

Solidarity Action Day exceeded our expectations, and the achieved results inspire us to work even harder for a different and more inclusive Solidarity Action Day. We aim to introduce new elements to Solidarity Action Day soon, such as collaboration with the youth and businesses from the diaspora, schools, and many other new aspects that you will soon learn about.

Solidarity Action Day is part of the environmental activities of the Swedish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (SIDA), through its “Human Rightivism” Program that is implemented by CDF and TOKA; is supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Civil Society (KCSF) ‘EJA Kosova’ – co-financed by the Swedish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (SIDA), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; as from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. This project is developed in cooperation with the SAME network of organizations.