What is the name of your organization?
DYVÓ
What is the name of your solution?
Creative Eco-Activism
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Empowering youth through creative eco-activism for environmental advocacy and circular economy innovation
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Pristina Municipality
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
UNK
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Kosovo has much to do to reach the level of global development, specifically on how developed countries mitigate challenges, educate, and launch innovative approaches for overall well-being. In a country that has been isolated for more than 20 years after the war it faced in 1999, youth especially young women and disadvantaged groups face high unemployment rated, limited access to education and very few opportunities to be able to access innovation or get inspired by such.
Kosovo’s education systems often prioritize linear, outdated models while neglecting circular economy principles and hands-on, mission-driven learning, whereas official programs rarely teach critical skills like upcycling, design thinking, or sustainable prototyping. On the other hand there is a severe lack of facilities that would allow youth to collaborate, experiment, and engage in real environmental challenges or engage in circular economy solutions.
Globally, this mirrors a broader issue: young people of Kosovo are often left out of innovation initiatives despite their potential to lead.
What is your solution?
DYVÓ aims to solve this by providing a Creative Common Space that combines education, design, and digital fabrication—turning local challenges into opportunities for youth-led initiatives, environmental impact and social change. The overall objective of the solution is based on increasing knowledge and opportunities for youth in Kosovo to address climate change and social challenges through consolidated networks and emphasis on innovative product-based initiatives and gender mainstreaming. More specifically, the intervention logic aims at:
1) Providing an open and inclusive Creative Common Space (& Fab Lab) that engages relevant community members in developing research and innovation to support a circular economy;
2) Building on capacities of mission-oriented product-based innovation led by young women, men, and disadvantaged communities;
3) Enhance social and legal knowledge on Creative Common Spaces impact through engagement with networks of public institutions, academics, private entities and Global ‘Fab Lab’ networks.
The action’s capacity-building and expertise development subthemes seek to consolidate gender-mainstreaming and environmental sustainability as overarching criteria integrated within the work of our target audiences.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution serves existing circular and sustainable projects/interventions, particularly women-led, young creatives, professionals, and environmental activists (ages 16-35), priority women and minorities and disadvantaged groups, students in
Vocational Education and Training schools and agency network, university students and diaspora students);
Local/Regional Academics and Experts from sustainability, creative, and technology sector (environmental
engineers, Architects, Industrial Designers, Social Entrepreneurs, developers, innovators); Artists, environmental
and cultural activists; Local residents; Ministries of Environment & Innovation, Economy, Culture Youth and
Sports; Municipalities and Media.