United Nations Association Albania

United Nations Association Albania (UNAA) is a youth-focused, non-profit organization dedicated to informing, inspiring, and mobilizing Albanian youth and Albanian citizens, in general, to support and promote human rights, sustainable development and peace. It started as a project in October 2016, when a diverse group of young Albanians passionate about youth engagement and the United Nations, decided to join their endeavors to create and foster a UN youth community in their country. Hence, UNAA firstly began as a UN Youth Association, having as its main mission to bring young people closer to the UN and the UN closer to the youth. Due to its background, UNAA’s youth chapter has been incorporated into the association and operates as an autonomous, transparent, and accountable structure with its own bylaws. Presently, it includes around 50 (fifty) young volunteers aged between 16-27 years old, who believe that volunteerism is the ultimate exercise in democracy. UNAA aims at creating a medium that swiftly shifts from training youth to enabling youth to become active citizens and change-makers. The organization has been active for more than five years, during which it has implemented numerous projects that include, among others the MUN Albania Initiative, the Coffee Talks Series, the UNYD Albania programme, and most recently, “UNYA Albania – Upgrading Youth Skills for Sustainable Action” Project, funded by the European Endowment for Democracy. Through projects such as seminars, webinars, workshops, conferences, publications, and simulations of the international decision-making bodies, UNAA aims at promoting the UN goals about the international system, help understand and implement Sustainable Development Goals, and serving as a tool for non-formal education of young people fostering the spirit of cooperation and volunteerism. UNAA works continuously to position itself as a key youth actor delivering on sustainable action, a key enabler of youth active engagement, a key promoter of youth participation and representation at the national and international level, and as a key campaigner of interest in diplomacy and the United Nations.