House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament Adopts 41 Conclusions: Coordinated Support for Youth in Education, Employment, and Housing

Members of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the FBiH have adopted 41 conclusions and numerous recommendations previously prepared and submitted to the parliament by the FBiH Commission for Youth Issues. The conclusions now also need to be adopted by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, after which they will formally receive parliamentary support as a framework for action.

The adopted conclusions constitute a set of recommendations and measures through which the Parliament of the Federation of BiH seeks to create a framework for systematically improving the position of young people in the Federation of BiH by developing solutions in the areas of education, employment, housing, social care, and health, while allowing youth to participate in decision-making.

Below is an overview of the adopted conclusions aimed at creating a better and safer environment for young people in the Federation of BiH.

FBiH YOUTH STRATEGY

1. The FBiH Government is tasked with submitting the Youth Strategy 2025–2034 to the Parliament, where it will undergo formal legislative procedure, including consideration by the House of Representatives.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities:

1. Assemblies of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, Posavina Canton, West Herzegovina Canton, Una-Sana Canton, Zenica-Doboj Canton, and Canton 10 are encouraged to develop and adopt youth strategies in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Youth Law of the Federation of BiH and the cantonal competences.

EDUCATION (formal and non-formal)

1. The FBiH Ministry of Education and Science is tasked, together with the FBiH Ministry of Finance and accredited higher education institutions, to establish, within six months, on its official website a regularly updated section with information on available scholarships for students in the Federation of BiH and BiH.
2. The FBiH Ministry of Education and Science is tasked with submitting the Draft Law on Student Standard of the Federation of BiH, with clearly defined provisions related to the financial evaluation of measures for transportation, meals, and additional student services, preparation of a sustainability study for these measures, and support for student dormitories through socially responsible, financially sustainable, and student welfare-oriented public-private management models.
3. The FBiH Ministry of Education and Science is tasked with analyzing the implementation status of the document “Strategic Directions for the Development of Career Orientation in the Federation of BiH 2015–2020”, including achieved results, identified challenges and obstacles, and preparing proposals for further activities and measures to improve youth career guidance, with clearly defined institutional responsibilities and implementation timelines to ensure continuous and effective action in this area.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities:

1. All cantonal ministries of education are encouraged to collaborate with relevant institutions and organizations of persons with disabilities to develop and implement measures ensuring equal access to children and youth with disabilities, particularly education for those from rural areas.
2. Cantonal ministries of education, transport, and spatial planning are encouraged to cooperate with local governments and other relevant institutions to ensure architectural accessibility of public institutions for persons with disabilities, improve public transport systems, and increase youth safety in traffic.
3. Cantonal ministries of education are encouraged to develop and implement service-learning programs in primary and secondary schools, where teachers and students carry out small projects addressing problems in local communities to strengthen knowledge, social responsibility, and youth solidarity.

EMPLOYMENT, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

1. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the FBiH Employment Agency are tasked with developing and establishing a centralized digital platform for publishing all youth employment support programs, monitoring applications, and transparently informing about user status, thereby improving transparency, efficiency, and trust in the youth support system.
2. The Government of the Federation of BiH and the relevant ministries are tasked with developing a regulatory framework that formally recognizes and systematically supports young people who earn income through freelance work. This framework should address their tax status, access to social security, and opportunities for professional development, in line with EU practices and the recommendations of relevant international institutions.
3. The Government of the Federation of BiH and the House of Representatives are tasked with urgently ensuring the adoption of the Law on Mediation in Employment and Social Security of Unemployed Persons, and the adoption of necessary secondary legislation and adjustment of internal acts of employment agencies, to enable separation of active and passive job seekers, ensure accurate unemployment data, and restore the role of employment agencies as intermediaries.
4. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with implementing pilot activities under the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan in BiH in 2026.
5. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with ensuring coordinated and continuous activities on providing information regarding the rights and obligations of students and employers under Article 166a of the Labor Law of the Federation of BiH, through a digital information center on student work and public campaigns to increase accessibility and understanding of the legal framework.
6. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with drafting a Regulation on Student Work to operationalize Article 166a of the Labor Law of FBiH, specifying concepts, procedures, and employer obligations, including standards of compensation, occupational safety, engagement records, and reporting. The regulation should allow for uniform interpretation of legal provisions, reduce legal uncertainty for employers, and provide students with a clear and safe framework for engagement, with coordinated oversight from competent institutions.
7. The Government of the Federation of BiH is tasked with establishing a permanent coordination platform for monitoring the implementation and effects of Article 166a of the Labor Law, involving competent ministries, the Tax Administration, employer associations, and representatives of student organizations. This platform will allow for continuous data exchange and serve as the basis for the Government’s annual report to Parliament with recommendations for potential legislative adjustments.
8. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with proposing a framework for regulating the status of intermediaries in student work, including the establishment of a register of intermediaries that defines minimum registration criteria, transparency obligations, student rights and protections, and requires annual reporting on the number of engaged students and paid compensation.
9. The Government of the Federation of BiH is tasked with ensuring that student work is adequately recognized and included in relevant strategic and planning documents of FBiH, as part of a broader approach to youth empowerment and easing the transition from education to the labor market. This approach requires institutional coordination, continuous data collection, and annual evaluation of outcomes, making student work an integral part of workforce development.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities

1. Cantonal employment services are encouraged to improve youth information systems about available employment and self-employment support programs through interactive social media campaigns targeting youth and to continuously strengthen local service capacities in information distribution through staff training and cooperation with civil society organizations.

SOCIAL CARE

Housing

1. The Government of the Federation of BiH is tasked with developing and proposing an integrated model of housing support for youth within six months, combining rent subsidies, adaptation of existing family homes, access to publicly managed apartments, and subsidies for first-time homebuyers. The model should be financially sustainable, transparent, and primarily targeted at youth leaving their parental homes for the first time, with differentiated measures for rural youth, youth with disabilities, youth without parental care, and young couples. This includes adaptable housing units, special subsidies, and priority access to support programs.
2. The Government of FBiH is tasked with ensuring a minimum 10% increase in budget allocations for youth housing programs to allow broader coverage, more subsidies, guarantees, and programs.
3. The Government of FBiH, in cooperation with cantons, is tasked with establishing minimum joint tax standards and coordinating the digital linkage of land registry and Tax Administration data, as tax policy, alongside gradual implementation of measures, must be aligned with youth housing policy goals through two dimensions: facilitating first-time property purchase and introducing a tax on residential properties that are not rented out, to support housing access for young people.
4. The Government of FBiH is tasked with developing and proposing a legislative framework for regulating the rental market, ensuring the rights of both tenants and landlords, as well as guaranteeing ownership rights. The framework should set general criteria for determining and increasing rental prices in areas with market pressure and establish a register of lease agreements within the Tax Administration.
5. The Government of FBiH is tasked with developing a sustainable model for public-private partnership and socially stimulated construction of housing for youth, covering ownership and non-ownership forms, with clearly defined user criteria (age, income, and priority for young families), and reporting annually on project outcomes and transparency.
6. The Government of FBiH is tasked with developing and proposing a legislative and institutional framework for social housing based on long-term and affordable rent, defining users and criteria, repurposing public housing stock, establishing a digital registry of apartments and users, with special emphasis on a sustainable funding model through public funds, local budgets, funds, credit lines, and private-public partnerships.
7. The Government of FBiH is tasked with establishing a centralized monitoring system and a public registry of all youth housing programs (subsidies, social apartments, and PPP projects), with an annual report publicly published and submitted to Parliament.

Social care

1. The Government of FBiH is tasked with submitting the draft Law on Social Services to Parliament within three months and, after adoption, drafting secondary legislation ensuring a competitive and transparent social service market, including certification, monitoring, and quality evaluation, focusing on social entrepreneurship and mentorship for youth, and establishing mandatory consultation mechanisms with civil society organizations working directly with youth.
2. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with establishing a registry of social welfare beneficiaries at the FBiH level, aged 15–30.
3. The Government of FBiH is tasked with promptly reviewing and adopting amendments to the FBiH Foster Care Law, and submitting it to both Houses of Parliament, to ensure better care and secure living conditions for children without parental care, and improve support for foster parents and families.
4. The Government of FBiH is tasked with urgently reviewing and adopting amendments to the FBiH Inspections Law to establish an Inspectorate for Child and Social Protection within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, enabling timely and quality inspections of social care institutions.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities:

1. All cantonal governments are encouraged to develop an integrated housing support model for youth within six months, combining rent subsidies, adaptation of family homes, access to public apartments, and first-property purchase subsidies, which are financially sustainable, transparent, and primarily target youth leaving parental homes.
2. Cantonal governments are encouraged to set up formal mechanisms for youth participation (youth advisory bodies, public consultations, participatory working groups) in designing, implementing, and evaluating youth housing policies and programs.
3. Relevant cantonal ministries are encouraged to cooperate with municipalities to develop a deinstitutionalization plan and flexible community-based social services within six months. The plan should include mapping youth needs, developing mobile support teams and centers, and reducing long-term dependence on institutional care.

YOUTH HEALTH

1. The FBiH Ministry of Health is tasked with initiating accreditation procedures for evidence-based addiction prevention programs, creating a registry, and defining funding and evaluation methods.
2. The FBiH Ministry of Health is tasked, in cooperation with cantonal ministries and social protection institutions, with harmonizing procedures and standards for procuring orthopedic aids and improving medical certificate practices to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment.
3. The FBiH Ministry of Health is tasked with preparing a report on the harmful effects of energy drink consumption among minors in the Federation of BiH.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities:

1. Cantonal ministries are encouraged to ensure continuous and accessible psychological counseling in all schools, universities, and youth centers as a preventive measure to protect the mental health of young people.

YOUTH SAFETY AND SECURITY

1. The Government of FBiH and relevant ministries are tasked with defining the internet as a public space and amending legislation to include provisions on digital safety for youth, such as violence prevention, data protection, hate speech, and sexual harassment, as well as establishing a minimum recommended age of 12–13 for creating a social media account.
2. The FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is tasked with finalizing all bylaws under the Law on Protection from Domestic and Gender-Based Violence to ensure full implementation.

INVESTMENT IN YOUTH, ACTIVISM, VOLUNTEERING, AND PARTICIPATION

1. The Government of FBiH is tasked with establishing a budget line for youth, clearly earmarking and tracking all youth expenditure across sectors. The FBiH Ministry of Finance is tasked with conducting a mandatory analysis of the effects of budget measures on youth in accordance with Article 25 of the FBiH Youth Law.
2. The Government of FBiH is tasked with ensuring a dedicated and diversified allocation of funds by organization type and thematic area, to distribute support evenly and avoid the concentration of funds. This is achieved through standardized reporting and evaluation, transparent criteria, scoring, evaluative comments, and explanations for rejected applications, ensuring systematic monitoring of investments.
3. The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport is tasked, as feasible, with proposing an increase in funding for the Sports budget line.
4. The Government of FBiH is tasked with digitizing and simplifying applications for public youth funds, including the Youth Transfer, to make funds accessible to smaller and newly established organizations.
5. All ministries are tasked with decentralizing and promoting public calls for youth through info sessions, workshops, webinars, and cooperation with local media to increase engagement from all communities, and to introduce mentoring and technical support for smaller organizations to improve project quality and sustainability.
6. The FBiH Ministry of Justice is tasked with establishing a centralized registry of youth organizations for targeted communication, monitoring, and development of mentoring and advisory networks.
7. The Government of FBiH is tasked with renaming the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport to the FBiH Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Youth in accordance with the FBiH Youth Law.
8. The Government of FBiH, FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport, and FBiH Ministry of Finance are tasked with increasing the Youth Transfer budget from 600,000 BAM to 1,000,000 BAM for 2026.
9. The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport is tasked, in cooperation with the Youth Council of FBiH, with proposing amendments to the FBiH Youth Law to facilitate youth organization.
10. The FBiH Ministry of Justice is tasked with creating a guide to the FBiH Law on Volunteering to recognize the importance and promotion of volunteering, ensuring coordinated approaches across levels and integration into local and cantonal development strategies.
11. The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport is tasked with improving the system for allocating funds earmarked for the FBiH Youth Council, distributing funds in the first quarter of the current year, regardless of the timing of the public call for Youth Transfer.
12. The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports is tasked with working, in cooperation with all other entity ministries responsible for youth affairs, to jointly improve the approach to organizing and collecting data, in line with existing legislation concerning young people in the Federation of BiH. The data collected should allow for disaggregation by sex and age (or age groups) at a minimum, to ensure that information on young people, as defined by the Law on Youth of the Federation of BiH, can be specifically identified.

Recommendations for cantonal authorities:

1. All cantonal governments are encouraged to establish a budget line for youth, ensuring that all expenditure items intended for young people are clearly marked and traceable across all sectors. This would allow for systematic monitoring of investments and prevent a fragmented approach. Cantons should also standardize the reporting and evaluation of youth projects and programs, with transparently published criteria, scoring, and evaluative comments, including mandatory explanations for rejected applications.
2. All cantonal youth commissions are encouraged to strengthen oversight of youth budget implementation within their jurisdiction, including transfers from the cantonal to the local level.
3. Cantonal governments are encouraged to allocate funds for umbrella youth organizations as separate items within their budgets.
4. All cantonal governments are encouraged to digitize and simplify the application process for public youth funding, to make funds more accessible to smaller and newly established organizations.
5. Cantonal ministries are encouraged to decentralize and actively promote public calls for youth projects through information sessions, workshops, webinars, and collaboration with local media, to ensure broader participation from organizations across the FBiH.
6. Relevant cantonal ministries are encouraged to introduce mentoring and technical support programs for organizations with limited capacities, to help improve project quality and ensure the sustainability of results.
7. All cantonal ministries of justice are encouraged to establish a centralized register of youth organizations, which would serve as a tool for targeted communication, monitoring of beneficiaries, and the development of mentoring and advisory networks.
8. Cantonal assemblies are encouraged to include and appoint youth representatives to youth-related committees/commissions, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Youth of the Federation of BiH and cantonal competencies.
9. All relevant cantonal ministries are encouraged to establish youth departments or sectors.
10. All cantonal governments are encouraged to establish the position of youth officer and ensure adequate training and professional development for these officers, in accordance with the Law on Youth of the Federation of BiH.
11. Cantonal assemblies and youth commissions are encouraged to organize thematic sessions on youth policies at least once a year, focusing on specific priority areas.
12. All cantonal ministries providing or supporting public services are encouraged to collect data on service users in a way that allows for the disaggregation of information by age, sex, type of service used, and place of residence. Age-related data should enable the extraction of information by individual years or age clusters, and at a minimum, in accordance with the definition of a young person under the FBiH Law on Youth.
13. All cantonal assemblies are encouraged to adopt regulations governing the field of sports and the position of young people in sports, in accordance with the Constitution of the Federation of BiH.

All conclusions and recommendations were adopted by the members of the Commission for Youth Issues of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the second thematic session, jointly organized by the Committee, the Youth Council of FBiH, the Institute for Youth Development KULT, and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD).