The latest results of the research made by Institute KULT on problems and requirements of youth in, for example, urban municipalities in Sarajevo reveal devastating statistics: 64% of youth would leave BiH forever or for a longer period of time. What must be the situation, then, in smaller communities in BiH?! Worse, with no doubt. These alarming data should not be surprising: even during the election year the authorities allocated only 2 BAM per person for youth support and development. According to the former researches of NGOs, during the last 4 years, the authorities of BiH have allocated the lowest funds for youth requirements – a whole of 14 million BAM in 4 years, which is barely 0.05% of the total budget funds.
Even though there are entity laws that oblige the autorities to support the youth by adopting and implementing strategic documments, only 43% of BiH municipalities have some kind of a youth strategy. 62% of municipalities have an advisor on youth issues, with the fact that the “youth” area, in most instances, comprises hardly 20% of their working time, because they are in charge of other tasks as well. There are no positive numbers at the local representative authority level, either: 81% of municipalities have a youth commission as a part of committee/assembly, but in 49% of municipalites the youth commission is not functional. The same municipal councils/assemblies adopted (or not) the budgets for supporting youth activities: Where there are youth budgets, in 44% they do not surpass 10,000 BAM.
The Law on Youth Organising of Republika Srpska was adopted back in 2004 and the Youth Law of FBiH in June 2010. They provide for applicable and concrete solutions – only if they were consistently implemented. On the occasion of promoting the Youth Law in FBiH, Institute KULT started a promotional campaign with four partnership organisations in order to introduce all youth, associations and authorities with the Law and their rights and obligations. During the promotion, over 40 public presentations of the Law, round tables and youth workshops will be held, and the authorities and youth organisations will be encouraged to implement legal provisions. An online quiz is prepared for youth as well, in which they can respond on the questions concerning Youth Law in FBiH, and they have the opportunity to win a laptop. More information about the Law and the promotion at www.mladi.org.
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