For many young people in the diaspora, the idea of home carries more than one meaning. It can be the country where they were born or raised, the language they speak with their family, the food that reminds them of childhood, or the stories they heard growing up about Kosova and Albania.
Through OriginAL, diaspora youth get the chance to experience those meanings up close.
During their journey across Kosova and Albania, participants do not only visit new cities, museums, institutions, and cultural sites. They meet people, share conversations, taste traditional food, listen to local stories, and build friendships with others who carry similar questions about identity and belonging.
For some, the journey feels familiar from the beginning. A word, a song, a family name, a meal, or a street can bring back memories they did not know they carried. For others, the connection grows slowly, through each visit, each conversation, and each shared moment with the group.
This is what makes OriginAL more than a travel experience. It creates space for young people to understand that home is not always one place. Sometimes, home lives in the stories passed down by parents and grandparents. Sometimes, it appears in the warmth of people who welcome them. Sometimes, it is found in the friendships made with peers from different countries, all connected by shared roots.
Kosova and Albania become more than places on a map. They become spaces of memory, learning, and connection. Participants begin to see their heritage not as something distant, but as something alive, something they can carry with them and shape in their own way.
Each OriginAL cohort brings together young people with different backgrounds, languages, and life experiences. Yet, throughout the program, they often discover that they share more than they expected. They share questions about where they come from, what belonging means, and how they can stay connected to their roots while building their futures elsewhere.
In this sense, OriginAL helps participants find home in more than one place. It reminds them that identity can stretch across borders, generations, and experiences. It shows them that belonging does not have to be limited to one city or one country.
Home can be where you live.
Home can be where your family story began.
And sometimes, home is what you recognize in yourself along the way.
