The youth strategy aims to raise awareness about the importance of art, culture, sports, and quality leisure time in a healthy environment, highlighting how these elements contribute to developing human capital within the community. A healthy environment and engaging in sports both improve the health of young people, with culture and art also playing a crucial role in their well-being and development. Culture and sports provide young people with opportunities to showcase their skills and talents, while also helping them work on social skills that may be underdeveloped due to the widespread use of modern technologies. A clean and healthy environment is the foundation for a better quality of life for young people in all other areas.
Culture and sports play a big role in the development and satisfaction of young people, with environmental protection and tourism also acknowledged as important in the strategy. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, progress in these areas is hindered by the lack of legislation and strategic documents specifically aimed at culture and sports. Some progress has been made in environmental protection in recent years, including the adoption of the FBiH Environmental Protection Strategy 2022-2032, and the implementation of environmental legislation.
After identifying major issues in culture, sports, environment, and tourism, stakeholders worked to develop priorities for each area and define indicators to monitor goal achievement. Issues include inadequate monitoring of fund allocations for young people and a lack of information on budgeting efficiency for culture and sports. They also noted that the funds allocated for youth are insufficient to meet their needs. The team working on the strategy, consisting of representatives from FBiH institutions and the Youth Council, noted the absence of financial support for young people in culture and sports. Specifically, there is a lack of criteria that would prioritize youth in the allocation of funds. One notable problem is the lack of systematic support for the development of athletes and artists who are just starting their careers and have already achieved noteworthy results. These young people need support from government institutions. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of a comprehensive legal framework treating culture and sports in greater detail. In order to offer young people better opportunities in culture and sports and to ensure they play a bigger role in shaping environmentally friendly policies and solutions, it is crucial to involve them in decision-making processes at all levels. Participation in decision-making, a key provision of the FBiH Youth Law, is essential for improving the position of young people. However, its implementation is lacking at all levels of government, leading to the inequality of young people as a group in our society. It is crucial to allow young people to participate and consult them when designing programs, strategic documents, and legislation that directly affect them, particularly in culture, sports, and environmental protection. Participation also involves including young people in various commissions and decision-making bodies, allowing them to take part in public hearings and encouraging them to contribute to finding solutions for issues affecting the broader community.
In response to these challenges and issues across various areas, the youth strategy envisions young people actively participating in social and political life, with equal opportunities to access their rights and live up to their potential.
The Strategy is actionable in that it offers recommendations for programs addressing youth problems and generating opportunities. The strategic goal of the youth strategy when it comes to culture, sports, environment, and tourism is to ensure that the legal and institutional framework supports further development in these areas across the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by implementing the measures outlined in the strategy.
The goal is to introduce a performance measurement system that includes monitoring and evaluating programs for young people, as well as assessing the effectiveness of awarded funds and grants in culture, sports, and ecology. The current system does not allow for monitoring the efficiency and effectiveness of funds allocated for young people and fails to provide data and information needed to develop future programs for youth. The performance measurement system would involve monitoring the activities and results achieved during the implementation of projects and other activities.
Priorities in creating new and improving existing opportunities for young people in culture, sports, environmental protection, and tourism include increasing financial support and developing criteria to give young people an advantage when applying for public invitations and competitions. The goal is to provide young athletes and artists with reliable, government-sponsored care and support that will help them grow and succeed. Establishing a robust legal and strategic framework would make it easier to create new opportunities and avenues for the development of young people in culture and sports. The Federation of BiH currently has no sports or culture-specific laws. Putting in place adequate legislation would also ensure protections for marginalized youth who are currently excluded and not receiving adequate institutional support. The strategic platform prioritizes establishing and implementing a system for involving young people in decision-making processes in culture, sports, environmental protection, and tourism. This is one of the key priorities, considering the fact that the FBiH Law on Youth says that young people must be involved in decision-making processes at all levels. One positive example is the participation of representatives of the Youth Council of the FBiH in the work of the Committee for Youth Issues of the FBiH Parliament. Other government institutions should follow in the same footsteps. The goal is to urge all levels of government in FBiH to involve young people in decision-making processes, enabling them to participate equally in creating opportunities and programs aimed at improving the quality of life for young people. A key priority for improving youth opportunities and participation is the establishment of the Council for Youth, which is the responsibility of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council is a working body of the FBiH Government whose main task is coordinating and harmonizing youth policy and supervising the implementation of the Law on Youth. The Council for Youth would comprise an equal number of youth representatives and government representatives.
The priorities aim not only to improve the status of young people but also to improve the government’s care for youth. Building communication and trust between young people and representatives of government institutions is crucial for the success of all proposals and measures that will be included in the youth strategy. Government institutions can set up a system for youth care by working on the priorities defined in each area. The long-term effectiveness and success of the entire process depend on the collaboration between various government institutions and the Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This involves establishing communication among stakeholders and collectively addressing the problems and needs of young people, by continuously designing solutions throughout the duration of the strategy. While working on issues related to culture, sports, environment and tourism, stakeholders agreed that a cross-sectoral approach would be immensely beneficial for generating better opportunities for growth and development for young people.
The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports leads the strategy development process in cooperation with the Institute for Youth Development KULT and the Youth Council of FBiH.
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