European Commission - Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations

04/18/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/18/2023 10:40

Western Balkans: New EU-Western Balkans road trip campaign ‘Made of us’ launches in Podgorica today

Starting today 18 April 2023, the European Commission is kicking-off its very first EU-Western Balkans road trip as part of the 'WeBalkans' EU regional communication programme for the Western Balkans. In the context of the European Year of Skills, the campaign 'Made of us' features twelve young EU and Western Balkan vloggers who will travel across the region to share their experiences, promote EU projects and showcase the hidden beauties and unique cultural heritage that the Western Balkans have to offer using their own words, vision and distinctive communication style. The 'Made of us' vloggers are young and talented content creators between the ages 21 and 30 coming both from the Western Balkans and EU Member States. They will the region in pairs, each consisting of one EU and one WB vlogger, and each pair covering one of the Western Balkans Six during the course of one week.

The 'Made of us' campaign concept aims to show how the EU invests in the region in order to build a better future for all, while on the other how close the Western Balkan partners are already to the E U, and that many EU-funded opportunities and skills are already available for citizens in the Western Balkans. Young people are at the core of the present and the future of the Western Balkans and Europe. By showcasing all that the Western Balkans has to offer, the youth are encouraged to stay and to contribute to their own region to make it grow:

  • Possibilities are made of us
  • Stories are made of us
  • The present and future are made of us

The campaign launch took place at the Europe House in Podgorica, Montenegro, in the presence of the EU Ambassador to Montenegro, Oana-Cristina Popa, the Italian Ambassador to Montenegro, Andreina Marsella, and famous local Montenegrin social media content creators. They welcomed the vloggers Emir Cirikovi from Montenegro and Alice Franchi from Italy, who were also present at the event in person, together with the other ten vloggers who joined online to present themselves and their travel itineraries. Among others, heroes from previous WeBalkans campaigns, Young European Ambassadors from Montenegro, famous Montenegrin social media influencers, and representatives of local youth and student networks attended the launch event. After the launch, the EU-Montenegro vlogger pair immediately set off on their journey by car.

The campaign will last a total of six weeks between 18 April and 30 May, with each journey being documented online on the WeBalkans and vloggers' own social media channels, as well the dedicated Made of Us campaign webpage. The vloggers will travel for a total of 42 days and over 6000 km by car, covering a total of 18 EU-supported projects, and meet many interesting and inspiring local personalities along the way, all the while showcasing the natural scenery, extraordinary landmarks and the special partnership that the EU and Western Balkans have. The main channel of dissemination for the campaign is Instagram, where vloggers will display their creative content creation skills using their own equipment and social media channels, translating the journey into high-quality via a series of Instagram stories, lives, posts and reels on each day of the trip.

Find out more about each of the six exciting travel itineraries, and the EU-Western Balkan vlogger pairs on the https://madeofus.webalkans.eu/ website. Follow the whole adventure and all of the unforgettable experiences daily on the WeBalkans social media channels, available below.

Background

The EU Regional Communication Programme for the Western Balkans was launched in January 2020 and runs for a total of four years. The objective is to inform diverse target audiences about EU values, policies and projects. The programme comprises three integrated components:

- three region-wide communication campaigns

- the online portal WeBalkans.eu

- the Young European Ambassadors network

The European Commission (Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy - DG NEAR) is funding the programme.

More information:

  • https://webalkans.eu/en/made-of-us/
  • Facebook: @webalkans.eu
  • Instagram: @webalkans_eu
  • Twitter: @webalkans
  • Flickr: WeBalkans EU
  • Youtube: WeBalkans Channel
  • Spotify: WeBalkans.eu