Mejra and Marko are partnering up with young people in their community as well as local Unified Schools to produce and eventually screen a film about inclusion and Youth Leadership.
About the Project Leaders
Mejra is a 24-year-old from Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro. She is a Youth Leader and athlete from Special Olympics Montenegro Mejra loves to play table tennis. As a Youth Leader, she gave presentations to students and teachers in high schools on Special Olympics Montenegro. Mejra has participated in many Special Olympics Leadership events, most recently she attended the Regional Youth Leadership Summit in Berlin in June 2022. Mejra is a Youth Leader because she loves to meet new friends, and to change people's mindsets toward people with intellectual disabilities.
Marko is a 19-year-old from Podgorica, Montenegro. Along with his Unified partner, Saša, Marko represented Special Olympics Montenegro on the Youth Leadership Council for Special Olympics Europe Eurasia.. Marko is part of the Unified Generation because he believes in equally involving and supporting everyone in his community no matter their ability. As a Youth Leader, Marko gave presentations to students and teachers of SO Montenegro in high schools. Marko, alongside Mejra also attended the Regional Youth Leadership Summit in Berlin in June 2022 where he was able to engage in discussion with young people all over Europe.
The Inspiration
Mejra and Marko want to change the mindsets in their community toward people with intellectual disabilities. They want to motivate young people to be more involved and to actively contribute to social change, and promote the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.
The Plan
Over the course of their project, 6 Youth Leaders with and without ID from 3 Unified Schools in Montenegro will share their experiences as Unified Pairs, engaging in Inclusive Youth Leadership, through a promotional video. Recording the short film will present and encourage Inclusive Youth Leadership. They will have 3 screenings of their promotional video, which will be organized for students with and without intellectual disabilities, their teachers and families from 3 Unified schools in our country. They aim to have their promotional video aired on television, too.
Project Goals
Through their project, Mejra and Marko hope to influence young people in their community to develop positive attitudes toward people with intellectual disabilities, engage new Youth Leaders in their program, and provide knowledge about Inclusive Youth Leadership within schools.
