It’s High Time That Authorities Prioritise Youth

It is high time that political parties and authorities in BiH include youth as a priority in their programs – this was the message sent from the opening ceremony of the first training for young politicians – “Learn, Think and Act!” for young political leaders (UMiD^p) which is was held in Neum, by the Institute for Youth Development KULT.

The initiative to organize the UMiD^p training was launched in response to the fact that very few political parties include youth in their programs (only 14 during the 2014 elections), according to research conducted by the Institute for Youth Development KULT, which also showed that more that 50 political parties mention youth either rarely or not at all.

“I want to learn more and improve my skills, but I also want to contribute to change. I want to take part in improving the position of youth, all other citizens and my local community. I’m happy I was given the opportunity to do so.” – said Miloš, a participant from Zvornik.

The training “Learn, Think and Act!” for young political leaders (UMiD^p) will be attended by 26 young politicians from 9 political parties. During the three modules of the UMiD^p training, the participants will develop the skills and capacity for prioritizing youth issues in political parties’ programs/agendas, by taking into consideration the structure of the political system in BiH and the challenges of economic and social development.

“We see participants as partners, as fighters who will fight with us to improve the position of youth. The training UMiD^p was designed in response to an obvious need, just like the Institute.” – said Jasmin Bešić, Executive Director of the Institute for Youth Development KULT.

During and after the training, the participants will work on strengthening their own regard for human rights, gender equality and democratic processes for improving the position of youth, through developing clear strategies, conducting advocacy campaigns and effectively representing their voting district. Their active advocacy and lobbying aimed at the authorities will address some of the problems faced by youth in their local community, and serve as an example to youth and politicians and illustrate the importance of active political participation.

This training is implemented with the support of the Government of Sweden.