WeLead
The »WeLead: EU Scheme for Young Professionals in the Western Balkans« (WeLead) project is a four-year multi-beneficiary capacity development project funded by the European Union.
About the WeLead project
In the period 2023-2026, the WeLead project will contribute to good neighborly relations and the advancement of the EU integration process of the Western Balkans through improved regional cooperation of young people.
Through different project activities, our objective will be i) to improve knowledge and experience of the EU accession process acquired by the next generation of public administrators and policy makers in the Western Balkans, and ii) to enhance a stronger professional network between young public officials and between administrations.
Join usWho is it for?
This project brings together next-generation leaders and policymakers aged 35 or younger from the Western Balkans. They will act key agents of EU integration processes and public administration reform.
What is on learning agenda?
Young public professionals will have a chance to improve knowledge and skills in:
- Policy cycles and reforms in the public sector
- Managerial accountability and professional and personal integrity
- Leadership styles and their applications
- Foresight and complexity management
- Strategic communications in the public sector
- Innovations and service delivery
- Public institutions as learning organizations
- Participative governance and listening at a bigger scale
- Green and digital transformation and its interrelation with public financial management and public administration reforms
- Gender equality
Topics will be prioritized at the annual steering committee of the project and the chosen ones will be elaborated further in the scope of the component WeLearn - Participatory and peer-to-peer learning events.
Project components
Under this component, participants will be provided with diverse and flexible learning experiences that will be tailored to their individual needs and interests. Through face-to-face and online activities, they will be able to learn and engage with policymakers and experts from across the Western Balkans and develop essential skills for their careers. The topics they will explore are the following: Managerial Accountability and Professional and Personal Integrity, Leadership Styles and Their Applications, Foresight and Complexity Management, Public Institutions as Learning Organizations, Participative Governance and Listening at a Bigger Scale, and Digital Transformation and its Interrelation with public financial management and public administration reform.
Selected young public professionals will have the opportunity to upscale their competencies for change management in the public sector through learning about policy analysis, communication, and writing policy notes under the guidance of mentors.
Through one-on-one professional coaching sessions, the participants will boost their personal skills (communication, planning, and decision-making skills, etc.) and will reflect, for example, on professional relations with work stakeholders and their ability to coordinate and manage them.
We will organize study visits for participants to EU member states and institutions of the participating Western Balkan beneficiaries. These study visits will be carefully designed in terms of scope, tenure, and destinations, and will be up to 3days long.
By facilitating connections and collaborations between participants, alumni, and experts from Western Balkans, this component aims to create a sustainable and supportive network of policymakers who can continue to learn and grow throughout their careers.
This component aims to create a collaborative learning environment with an emphasis on establishing a learning and knowledge sharing community between the participants and their teams, experts, alumni members, and the CEF. In turn, participants will develop a deeper understanding of the subject matters and will be able to take a more active role in their own learning.
