Podgorica was turned into a big playground today. Nearly 70 young people took part in a unique open-air game called City Challenge, which we organised to raise environmental awareness among young people. The practical tasks that the participants competed in were dedicated to nature protection. Our idea was to motivate young people to adopt green habits through fun and challenging tasks with a view to making their city a healthier, but also a more fun place to live.
A total of 15 three-member teams together with over 20 volunteers moved through Podgorica city centre, solving unusual tasks during the 3 hours of the game. They were assessed for speed, knowledge, tactics and creativity. The winners were a team called “Three little frogs”, who received a €600 winter holiday voucher for the first place. Team representative Irma Muhović shared her impressions after the award ceremony.
“We had a great time today. It was a really fast-paced competition that tested our ability to solve various tasks. As it turned out, we were very successful at that. We are so happy to have won this award,” Irma said.
The second place was awarded to a team called “Behaving the way you shouldn’t“, while the third place went to the “Forestkiss” team. Their members were each awarded a €50 voucher to buy products made by the Union of Young Entrepreneurs.
The City Challenge game was designed as part of our “Baš ti / You’re the one” initiative. The initiative has brought together 11 young people from Podgorica, who in recent months learned about the European Union with the help of their mentors, but also acquired new knowledge and skills needed for teamwork, launching initiatives or organising events such as this one. In addition to the game, the initiative members have designed three other activities, namely workshops on human rights and inclusion and a pub quiz on EU-Montenegro relations, with a focus on culture.
The European Union works with young people in Montenegro and in other areas as well. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, it launched a major campaign called Youth Dialogue, which aims to involve young people in decision-making processes on issues that affect them. The campaign aims to raise awareness of what exactly youth participation means and why it is important, as well as to create and foster a close dialogue between young people and decision-makers at the national level.