Developing skills to use radio and smartphones to raise your voice and improve your position in society was the goal of the youth exchange “Digital Community Radio for Youth Inclusion and Diversity” that was held in Ljubojno, Macedonia on 22-28.08.2023. 20 young people and youth workers from Macedonia, Iceland, Belgium and Denmark explored the past, present, myths, sounds, customs and traditions of this picturesque Prespa village and created a radio program on these topics through their smartphones. By the end of the exchange, all groups had planned, recorded and edited a podcast related to the region.
In “Echoes of Prespa” a group of young people from different countries take you on an unforgettable audio journey through Ljubojno and Brajchino, villages in Macedonia. They are in a quest to explore hidden gems of culture and spirituality. They discovered not only many churches throughout their journey in the villages, but also the hospitality of local people. They’ve been invited to the home of a local couple that shared with them not only baklava and Turkish coffee, but stories from the region and from regular life of regular people…
In “People in the kitchen” we can hear stories and experiences of different people around a very old house that stood and is still standing in Ljubojno through the generations.
In “Prespa Talks” you can receive a picture of Ljubojno and Brajchino, voices of life here, voices of youth & maturity. The stories from older people who moved here to live the rest of their lives in peace. But also from young people from big cities who decided to set their lives and raise their children in the quietness of nature.
In “Prespa tourism podcast” the talk is around the development of rural tourism in the region of Prespa. There will be stories from owners of local businesses offering attractions for tourists, restaurants and rooms for rent.
This youth exchange was part of KA2 small-scale partnership project “Digital Community Radio for Youth Inclusion and Diversity”. The project aims to strengthen and build good practices and capacities of the partner organizations through training and exchange in the field of digital youth work. More concretely to use the community radio and smartphones as tools for building and strengthening young people’s competencies, including those from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Project partners: Bergmál (Iceland) – applicant, Volunteers Centre Skopje (Macedonia), Art of the Box (Belgium), Aarhus Global Media (Denmark).