Writing Contest ” I am WBAA” – article by Isidora Janeva
“Are the participants arriving?”
“The gift bags are ready right?”
“Please take some photos of the people while we’re waiting to start.”
These were some of the most common sentences I heard while volunteering at my first WBAA event. I wasn’t even a member back then. But I still wanted to help. I wanted to be a part of this big international family. A Western Balkans family of young enthusiasts, just like me. Today, I am not only a member but an active teammate in the Communications Team. But let’s go back to the start.
My journey with WBAA started with the first project that I was a part of. Its topic was building a socially conscious business. I can genuinely say that I had never heard of the concept before participating in this project. Needless to say, I was excited to learn something new. Also, I was excited to finally do something with WBAA.
I had heard about the organization through our Erasmus coordinator at my University. There were hundreds of photos circulating the internet about this organization. WBAA looked like a community made up of likeminded people. It is a space where creativity is valued. It fosters a leadership mindset. It was something that I wanted to be a part of.
One thing that I never expected was to meet so many incredible people. Their energy, their enthusiasm, and their life stories inspired me as a person to further develop myself. These people were ambitious, well-spoken, kind, and generous. They were the type of people that I wanted to associate myself with. Six months later, I applied to become an official WBAA member, and here I am, telling my story of how this organization opened up the blinds which were in front of me for a long time.
I learned some very crucial lessons while being a part of WBAA. It is the fact that excellence is everywhere around us – you just have to decide to be a part of a group that embodies it. Through their projects and events, this organization is one of the driving forces in the Western Balkans region, fostering a culture of knowledge and teamwork, only to prove that these capable, like-minded young people can bring about fantastic changes in the region.
This why I am proud to say that I am a student. I am a leader. I am WBAA.