Dialogue, creativity and collaboration were at the heart of the Building Common Ground Skill-Building Workshop, which brought together 20 young people within the Creative Agents of Peace: Empowering Youth for Social Change through Art and the YPS Agenda – Phase II project. Through interactive learning, collaborative artistic processes and teamwork, participants strengthened connections, exchanged perspectives and explored the potential of socially engaged art to foster dialogue, trust and positive social change.
The workshop gathered participants from four partner organizations—KUUM (Belgrade), IZI (Prishtina), Cultural Club Gračanica and CDE Dolina (Bujanovac)—creating a diverse group of young people committed to exploring how art can serve as a catalyst for dialogue, civic engagement and peacebuilding.
Working in mixed teams throughout the programme, participants reflected on social challenges affecting their communities and transformed them into creative concepts through collaborative discussions and practical exercises. The workshop encouraged participants to learn from one another, build mutual understanding and develop creative approaches to issues that resonate across communities.
One of the programme’s highlights was the Stories of Prizren – Urban Story Hunt, an interactive activity that took participants beyond the workshop space and into the city’s streets. Divided into mixed teams, participants completed a series of creative tasks while exploring Prizren together, discovering its rich cultural landscape through cooperation, observation and shared experiences. The activity fostered teamwork, curiosity and informal learning while reinforcing the value of collaboration across different backgrounds.
The workshop concluded with team presentations, providing participants with an opportunity to share their creative concepts, reflect on their learning journey and discuss future steps. Beyond the ideas developed during the sessions, one of the workshop’s most significant outcomes was the participants’ commitment to continue collaborating throughout the project, further strengthening the network of young creative changemakers.
By creating space for collaboration across communities, the workshop demonstrated how artistic expression can become a powerful tool for building trust, encouraging dialogue and empowering young people to shape more inclusive communities together.
The Creative Agents of Peace: Empowering Youth for Social Change through Art and the YPS Agenda – Phase II project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through the ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) zivik Funding Programme and implemented by NGO CASA – Centre for Affirmative Social Actions in partnership with KUUM (Belgrade), IZI (Prishtina), Cultural Club Gračanica and CDE Dolina (Bujanovac).
