In October 2022, we established Youth for Change in Bitola, North Macedonia, with one idea: young people in our community deserve more opportunities to learn, travel and discover what they can do.
Four years later, in October 2026, we are celebrating our fourth anniversary. Since we started, we have participated in more than 15 international projects, sent over 60 young people abroad and reached more than one million impressions on social media.
But the numbers tell only part of our story.
Behind every project is a young person who decided to take a chance on something new. Behind every opportunity are people who worked to make it happen.
And behind these four years is a community that believed in us.
What have we achieved in four years?
Since October 2022, Youth for Change has worked to make international opportunities more accessible to young people from Bitola and across North Macedonia.
Here is what these four years look like in numbers:
- 15+ international projects that connected young people with different countries, cultures and communities.
- 60+ young people sent abroad, with an average of 3 to 4 participants representing our community in each project.
- 1,000,000+ social media impressions, helping information about youth opportunities and international experiences reach more people.
- Friendships and partnerships that have continued beyond individual projects.
- Personal stories and experiences that cannot be measured through statistics.
Each number represents hours of preparation, applications, conversations, travel arrangements and cooperation between young people and organisations.
We have watched a small idea grow into something that now connects our community with people across Europe.
And we are proud of how far we have come.
What do these numbers mean for young people?
For us, the most important part of these four years has always been the people.
Think about someone travelling abroad for the first time.
A young person who has never participated in an international project. Someone who is nervous about speaking English or meeting strangers from five different countries.
They apply anyway.
A few weeks later, they are sitting in a room with people they had never met before. They are discussing ideas, sharing experiences and learning how differently people can see the same world.
By the end of the project, those strangers might have become friends.
And when that young person returns to Bitola, they bring home memories, knowledge and perhaps a little more confidence to try something else.
Every participant has their own story. We cannot claim that every experience changes someone's life.
But we know why these opportunities matter.
Sometimes, the biggest change begins when someone realises that an opportunity they thought was out of reach is actually possible.
What have we learned since 2022?
Four years of running a youth organisation have taught us that progress is rarely as simple as it looks from the outside.
We have made mistakes.
We have faced challenges, changed plans and learned that some things require more time and patience than we expected.
There have been difficult decisions and moments when things did not go the way we wanted.
But there have also been successful projects, new partnerships and young people returning home with stories they could hardly wait to share.
We have learned from both.
What has remained the same is our belief that young people should have access to opportunities regardless of whether they have participated in an international project before.
We started Youth for Change because we wanted to contribute to that.
Four years later, we still do.
Who made these four years possible?
Youth for Change would not be where it is today without the people who trusted us along the way.
To every young person who applied for a project: Thank you for trusting us with your time and your first steps into international opportunities.
To every parent: Thank you for trusting our organisation and allowing us to be part of your child's experience.
To our partners across Europe: Thank you for welcoming our participants, working alongside us and continuing to believe in our cooperation.
To our volunteers and team members: Thank you for the time, patience and work that often happens long before a project begins.
Every application reviewed, every meeting attended and every problem solved has contributed to these four years.
This anniversary belongs to all of you.
What comes next for Youth for Change?
Our fourth anniversary is an opportunity to look back, but we are also thinking about what comes next.
We want to continue connecting young people from Bitola and North Macedonia with international opportunities.
We want to reach those who have never applied before, including young people who might think Erasmus+ projects and international exchanges are meant for somebody else.
And we want to keep improving the way we work, communicate and support our participants.
There are still young people who have never heard about these opportunities.
There are still stories waiting to begin.
Four years ago, Youth for Change was an idea.
Today, it is more than 15 international projects, over 60 participants and a community of people who helped make those experiences possible.
We are grateful for everything these four years have brought us. Even more, we are grateful for the people who made them matter.
Happy fourth anniversary to Youth for Change.
And to everyone who has been part of our story, thank you.
The next story could be yours.
Visit Youth for Change and discover how you can become part of what comes next.