ConnectEd in Belgrade: Key Takeaways from Our Training on Community Building

In Belgrade, we have just wrapped up one of the training sessions of the international ConnectEd project, and we are coming back with our ideas clearly organized and ready to put them into practice.

The ConnectEd project brings together four organizations—TiPovej! (Slovenia), Libero (Serbia), BACKSLASH (Spain), and Connect International (Belgium)—with a shared goal: to improve the way youth professionals support young people in their emotional well-being, social connections, and learning processes.

This time, the focus was on something that is often taken for granted: community building. Not as an abstract concept, but as concrete work. Because a strong community is not a luxury or a bonus; it is the foundation from which a young person can grow, make mistakes, and try again.

What came out of the three days of work?

Three key lessons that are already shaping the project’s implementation manual:

1. Young people must participate meaningfully. Not as recipients, but as protagonists of the community they are building. If we do not give them an active role in that process, we are building something for them, not with them.
2. Rituals matter more than we think. Repetition and symbolism create a shared framework. Rituals generate a sense of belonging and provide stability during times of transition, which are often the most challenging.
3. Group agreements as a starting point. Not imposed rules, but co-created agreements: what we expect from one another, how we care for one another, and how we listen to one another. That informal social contract is what turns a group into a community.

These three pillars will be integrated into the ConnectEd manual, a practical tool for those who work with young people every day.

The ConnectEd project is co-funded by the European Union.