You know you are young and you can change the world?! You understand that you must change it, because otherwise it will change you the way it changed your parents and their parents?! You don’t want history to repeat itself, for sayings such as “Youth are the future” and “Only youth can make a difference” to remain just empty phrases, spoken without thinking.
Youth are the most disadvantaged social group in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Survey on the Needs and Position of Youth in BiH showed that 37% of young people would leave BiH permanently, 40% for a longer period, while 9% have already taken concrete steps towards leaving the country.
This data makes sense in the light of the fact that 60% of youth cannot contribute to the household budget, and 23% live in households with an income lower than 1000 BAM.
The fact that only 5% of youth in BiH have a monthly income of over 1000 BAM, speaks to the alarming situation youth are in. Young people are not starting families; only 9% are married, only 7% have children, 7% live in independent housing, 2% of whom are under a lease, and 5% are homeowners.
Data of the Institute for Youth Development KULT indicate the existence of a trend of socio-economic dependency of youth in BiH. This is caused by difficulties in finding permanent employment, and the constant sidelining of youth in decision-making processes.
Nevertheless, youth want to participate in the decision-making process, take responsibility for their actions and give their opinion. It is therefore crucial to involve youth in decision-making processes, because they truly are instigators of change.
Despite the difficult situation of youth in BiH, the Institute for Youth Development KULT is celebrating the International Youth Day, celebrated across the world on August 12, since 2000. To this purpose, the Educational-Leisure Center for Youth SPAJALICA is organising a series of activities celebrating youth in BiH and their day.
SPAJALICA will offer a range of different activities on August 16, 2014, from 9:30 am to 10 pm.
The goal is to attract as many young people as possible from Sarajevo Canton and the local community in IlidĹľa, and offer them a range of high-quality, entertaining activities intended to promote non-formal education and youth volunteering.
International Youth Day is a day for celebrating the accomplishments of young people worldwide and the strengthening of their participation in the society. The Institute for Youth Development KULT wants to enable youth to actively contribute to developing local and regional youth programmes, because youth are the driving force of today and tomorrow.
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