Youth officers play a key role in supporting youth organizations and helping young people navigate everyday challenges, empowering them to actively contribute to their communities. The Institute for Youth Development KULT is focused on strengthening the role and improving the status of youth officers so we can work together to improve the lives of young people.
Tatjana Letić has spent her entire life engaging with young people through various activities. Since her high school days, she has been actively involved in youth work as a member of the youth group of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and she played handball for the women’s handball club “Radnik.” She graduated from the Faculty of Business Economics at the University of Istočno Sarajevo with a degree in Economics. Tatjana has been employed at the City Administration of the City of Bijeljina for seven years, and has been working as a youth officer for the last three years.
When asked how important her formal education was to her career path, Tatjana says, “I often say that economics wasn’t my first choice. It just happened that way, and I don’t regret it because during my studies, I met many great people that I ended up collaborating with. The knowledge I gained through formal education is just the first step in my ongoing learning journey.”
Tatjana notes that informal education through various seminars and trainings played a very important role in her personal and professional development.
She completed the basic training for youth officers organized by the Institute for Youth Development KULT. The training was very important for her: “The basic youth officer training is the best thing that has ever happened to me personally and a huge boost in my professional development. It wasn’t until I attended the first module and met amazing colleagues from other cities that I realized how little I knew about my own work and what incredible things youth officers are doing in other cities. For me, developing a strategic document was a scary and totally unknown concept. I learned how important it is to cooperate with youth officers from other cities,” says Tatjana.
Tatjana believes that a youth officer should be someone who is always available to young people.
“I often tell young people in my city that youth officers are not scary and that I am here to answer any questions they may have. I should be the link between them and the decision makers, to help make their ideas come true.”
Tatjana commented on the adoption of the Youth Policy for 2023-2028 with an Action Plan for 2024, and the progress made so far: “A team of five people worked on developing the Youth Policy for the City of Bijeljina, in cooperation with high school student councils and youth organizations in Bijeljina. In Bijeljina, the results of working with young people are very visible – we support them in organizing various events, workshops, and implementing projects.”
Tatjana’s future plans for working with youth will focus primarily on updating the register of youth organizations and starting the first phase of securing a youth space.
“Unfortunately, we have many inactive youth organizations in the city, so we don’t have accurate data on the actual number of active young people. Giving young people a space is my passion project, because I believe that this space would mean a lot to the young people in Bijeljina,” says Tatjana.
She advises young people in Bijeljina and across the country not to give up on their dreams, to stay persistent, to work on themselves, and to take advantage of all available opportunities, as every new connection and lesson learned contributes to personal growth!
The Institute for Youth Development KULT designs and delivers youth officer trainings and certified courses for expert youth work associates employed in city, municipal and cantonal administrations. The training program consists of basic and advanced training. The basic training program qualifies participants to fulfill the duties of an expert on youth issues in public administration. Participants are expected to meet the criteria from the Rulebook on training procedures and certification of youth officers of the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports. Advanced training is available to individuals who have completed the basic training program and received a certificate. The advanced training builds on their skills and provides further professional development. The basic youth officer training program consists of multiple modules and lasts a total of 120 hours.
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