Center for Youth Progress
The unique cooperation between a local youth network and local Youth activists has founded the Center for Youth Progress (CYP) with the aim to support and assist local formal and non-formal youth groups towards youth programs, youth development initiatives and work closely with stakeholders to promote quality services for young people.
CYP will advocate for effective policies on youth issues, youth involvement in local program development and good governance; youth rights and youth leadership development, fostering youth-adult partnerships in Albania.
Areas of Expertise
Strengths of CYP include providing a range of training, facilitating planning, convening diverse local and statewide groups, and establishing strong working relationships with multiple stakeholders at the local and national level. CYP uses many communication networks to inform youth, service providers, funders and policy makers about the important benefits of youth involvement strategies. CYP staff are active members of different national and international networks and associations, bringing up-to-date date research, evaluation, program and community youth development resource information into Albania. CYP staff has a long experience on working as with young people and adults in schools, and local communities. CYP is committed to developing young people to their full potential.
Our Mission
To promote positive youth development by increasing the effectiveness of youth workers, youth-serving organizations, and youth leaders throughout Albania.
Our Goals
- To advocate for an approach to youth work which is based on the strengths of youth, thereby promoting quality services and effective policies on youth issues;
- To build capacity, better skills and increase knowledge on human rights, participation and decision making.
- To promote youth development and youth work as a viable profession.
- To develop the competencies needed by young people to become active, successful adults by engaging them in youth-driven community development
- To empower young people to get involved in issues that affects them.
- To provide leadership in youth development training and technical assistance.
Our approach to Youth Development
CYP provides young people with an opportunity to contribute to their communities while developing the skills and abilities they need to become successful adults and engaged citizens. We support and assist young people to gain the social skills, values, competencies, and attitudes that will allow them to make positive life choices. We believe that young people are most likely to succeed in life if they are given opportunities to become actively involved in leadership roles – whether at home, in school, in community programs, or in faith-based activities. Through this approach CYP treats youth as a resource to be developed, rather than a problem to be solved, and engages the entire community in youth programs and policy.
Throughout our daily work we seek to promote a full set of youth competencies, including:
- Intellectual ability
- Employability
- Civic and social ability
- Cultural ability
- Peer to peer mentoring
- Youth programming
It is our belief that positive youth development for all young people in a community can only occur if the entire community is committed to seeing that all young people are fully developed and prepared for adulthood. It is essential to utilize young people as resources and as vital contributors in their local neighborhoods and the larger community. Rather than just “problem free”, our young people must be fully prepared, developed and engaged productively throughout their own local community.