The Aarhus Information Center Vlora, created with long support of OSCE Presence in Albania, has organized on 11 February 2014 a workshop with participants of local authorities from four communes of Vlore Region (Vlore, Orikum, Novosele and Qender commune), representatives from Vlora Regional Directory of Education, university students, teachers, citizens, and pupils. The workshop was organized in the framework of the project: “Youth Eco - Clubs - a new initiative to improve the environment”, with funding of the Regional Environmental Center (REC Albania), through SENiOR-A Swedish program.

There were 100 pupils, youths and students present there, representing 5 schools from four communes mentioned above: 

- Secondary school: “Lef Sallata" of Vlore Municipality; 
- High School “ Nikolla Xhuveli", of Qender Commune; 
- High School "Pilo Prifti", of Novosela Commune 
- High Schoo "Hasan Pulo" of Orikum Municipality 
- University "Ismail Qemali" of Vlore town

The purpose of the workshop was to encourage the youths to be part of local plans and programs by selecting environmental priorities that oncern young people, development of a concrete plan for the possibility of solving these priorities with advocacy and lobbying of representatives of local government units for the inclusion of environmental priorities of young people in programs and plans of local government. 

The leaders of each Eco - Clubs, presented to the participants, their issues and priorities of their community from the youth prospect. After presenting their issues and concerns, participants were divided into groups by school and through brainstorming methodology, they created an action plan on how to find solutions for the issues they themselves had chosen to discuss. 

After intense group discussions the plans of each eco-club were presented to all participants in the workshop. 

It is interesting to note that the students were very clear on what they want, they know where to address their issues, how to lobby for them, how they get the right solution so, they are very suitable target group to work with in order to address environmental issues. The Aarhus Information Center initiative aims to create a stable structure with youths and environmental activists and citizens dedicated to the protection of the environment.