Future Reviving Through Youth Work and (Aspiring) Youth Leadership: Building Skills for Participatory Democracy

Future Reviving Through Youth Work and (Aspiring) Youth Leadership: Building Skills for Participatory Democracy

Bosnia and Herzegovina invests very little in youth. Youth needs and interests, their education, advancement, ideas and goals are disregarded. Institutions in charge of caring for youth are not investing enough effort into including youth in decision-making processes, and do not see them as partners in recognizing needs and taking joint action to create a better environment for young people. Legislation in all parts of BiH is not given enough attention by competent institutions, resulting in incomplete implementation. Unemployment in BiH affects youth disproportionately, which further erodes their position in the society, their quality of life and social inclusion. The youth unemployment rate is 67.1%. Although this number is very concerning, young people are not among politicians’ priorities. This situation and the feeling of helplessness and inability to change anything for the better is driving youth out of the country.

The program Future Reviving through Youth Work and (Aspiring) Youth Leadership: Building Skills for Participatory Democracy will help youth use the knowledge and skills they will acquire during activities to address youth issues and problems in BiH, and articulate the priorities, needs and interests of young people. Government representatives will be involved in the entire process, to ensure that care for youth is put at the top of the list of priorities in domestic policy. The training for youth leaders, young leaders in political parties and youth officers will enable all institutional actors to better address the multitude of problems faced by youth, give young people a voice and an opportunity to make changes. The program activities will include over 5000 young people from BiH, who will become active citizens of this country. Grant support to civil society organizations focused on youth issues will strengthen the youth work sector and give the CSOs the necessary support to advocate for the interests of youth.

Since the initiative provides comprehensive support to efforts to improve youth policies, and youth consider unemployment a burning issue, the Institute will support local communities willing to cooperate with the Institute on founding an Entrepreneurial Fund for Young Entrepreneurs. Approximately 40 young people will have an opportunity to obtain funds for launching their own small business, allowing them to try their hand at entrepreneurship. In addition to financial support, the Institute will provide advice and mentorship, and help youth perfect their brand in technical and marketing terms, ensuring name recognition on the market and ability to earn a livelihood in BiH.

The Institute for Youth Development KULT occassionally provides funding through the Urgent Fund for civil society organizations. The goal of the Fund is to improve the position of youth and strengthen the youth sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Fund provides a straightforward way for applicants to support current or create new programs and activities intended to improve the position of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Institute processes applications within 30 days of receiving them. If funding is preceded by a negotiation process, the Institute may ask the applicant to improve the application. During the negotiation process with the Institute, applicants are required to submit to a simplified or extended pre-award assessment, depending on the grant amount (below 9,999.99 BAM – simplified pre-award assessment; over 9,999.99 BAM – extended (standard) pre-award assessment. The maximum amount that can be requested from the Institute through the Urgent Fund is 10,000.00 and the implementation period is up to one year.

The Institute’s Urgent Fund is available occassionally and is currently not receiving applications.

Contact information for project staff:

Katarina Vučković 

tel.: + 387 33 778 765

email: katarina.vuckovic@kultbih.org 

Dunja Škaljo

tel.: + 387 33 778 763

email: dunja.skaljo@kultbih.org

Samir Mahmić

tel.: + 387 33 778 765

email: samir.mahmic@kultbih.org 

Ada Hamidović

tel: +387 33 778 762

email: ada.hamidovic@kultbih.org 

Donor: Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden