Young European of the Year 2002

Mjellma Mehmeti, board member of the ACC was awarded by the Heinz-Schwartzkopf-Stiftung "Young European of the Year 2002". ACC nominated Mjellma during the summer 2002. After a careful selection process, including some interviews the award ceremony took place in Berlin, on December 2nd 2002 in the Landesvertretung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg. Bundestagspresident Wolfgang Thierse presented in his speech the point of view, that it is of utmost importance for Europe to establish a European public realm. Consequently, in her speech of thanks, it was only natural when Mjellma Mehmeti replied on this point and referred to the ACC and the format of the Scandinavian Folk High Schools as a convenient tool. After the principal speech of Bundestagspresident Wolfgang Thierse, the award was handed over by the President of the European Youth Parliament, Bettina Carr-Allinson. You can read more about the Heinz-Schwartzkopf Foundation at their website: www.heinz-schwarzkopf-stiftung.de

The hand-outs given to the media and the invited guests to the reception, presented the reasoning and short-portrait of Mjellma as follows

Short portrait

"Mjellma Mehmeti, 26 year old Macedonian of Albanian origin, was selected on the background of her merits and extraordinary engagement for youth and in particular for young women and for Bildung (General Education) far beyond borders of her home country.

In spite of her young age Mjellma Mehmeti can refer at a remarkable range of activities. In the beginning of the 90’s she became an active member of the ARK Anti Radna Kampanja, an initiative against the war with the aim of peace throughout the Balkan region. She revealed the international side of her engagement through functioning as a translator for the OSCE (the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

Shortly after, Mjellma Meheti founded the Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women (ESE) in Macedonia and initiated a programme against domestic violence.

In 1998 she was part of a committee of the Macedonian Ministry for Work and Social issues for equality between men and women. One year later, Mjellma Mehmeti was co-founder of the initiative Women Waging Peace, a global association of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

In 1999 she was a co-founder of the ACC Association for Community Colleges, a European NGO working for the establishing of a European public sphere.

As the latest Mjellma Mehmeti participated in the organisation of the Youth 2002 initiative in Denmark as a way of showing the Scandinavian folk high schools as a model for all Europe. This initiative involved as many as 1000 young people from 33 different European countries and was officially linked to the Danish EU-Presidency."