Youth Are Becoming Important Link in BiH Reforms

*Text published in Bosnia Daily magazine

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing several years filled with challenges on the reformation path that is now more certain than ever. They are all included in the document of the Reformation Agenda for Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed by the European Union. Increase in taxes and excises, decrease in the number of unemployed in the public sector, structural reform in the area of labor legislation, strengthening of the fiscal system, public management system, improvement of the business climate and competition are only some of the segments of this document. If all of them are fulfilled, they should bring prosperity to our country. Especially to youth, who, as it appears, decided to take matters into their own hands. In the end of the previous year, the first Youth Council of FBiH was formed in Sarajevo which, according to its members, is an umbrella institution for youth in the Federation of BiH in representing the interests of all youth. The basic obligation of the Federal Youth Council is to act on strengthening youth inclusion in the social life of the community and their informedness. The Council will be directly involved in the youth strategy implementation processes aiming to contribute to adopting and implementing youth policy and program of activities for youth that corresponds best to youth requirements and issues, claims Mate Lon?ar, the President of the Youth Council of FBiH.

 â€śWe will certainly work on building the capacity of the Youth Council and establishing contacts with the authorities in the Federation. We also wish to establish a more quality cooperation with the Youth Council of Republika Srpska in resolving joint issues concerning youth from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the initial steps is to hold a meeting with Ms Zora Dujmovi?, the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports, whose Ministry is responsible for the issues of youth in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We have had continuous support from the Institute for Youth Development KULT, which will continue to support us” – added Lon?ar.

Forming the Youth Council was stipulated in the Youth Law of FBiH and until this very day, the Institute for Youth Development KULT worked on establishing sustainable youth structures with partnership organizations. “Since 2011 we have helped to form 46 municipal and 6 cantonal youth councils. We provided them with necessary counselling and mentorship. Today, through these municipal and cantonal councils, over 2,000 youth from the Federation of BiH are directly included in the activities of the Youth Council of FBiH as evidence of its democratic disposition” – emphasized Abela Purivatra from the Institute for Youth Development KULT. 

There is 67.1% of youth unemployed  in BiH and four out of five youth would instantly leave their country. Mate Lon?ar claims that the Council is aware that unemployment is one of the greatest youth issues and adds that the solution to this problem will be seriously managed. “We will support even more active measures for youth employment, self-employment and first employment experience that should be implemented in the most quality manner possible. We will incite the implementation of FBiH Youth Law at all levels, which is definitely a step towards resolving youth issues” – emphasized Lon?ar.

The problem of unemployment is included in the Federal Youth Strategy, the draft of which should soon be presented to the Federal MPs and enacted in the period 2016-2020. The Strategy is created by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports and through the decision of the Government of FBiH, the Institute for Youth Development KULT was appointed as the expert and advisory support in the process. “This strategy will include all youth issues for the first time in one place and offer strategic, long-term solutions for resolving them” – explained Abela Purivatra.

The engagement of youth in this year, if the determined goals are fulfilled, will demonstrate that youth can be an equal partner to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it is possible to resolve the issues of youth in the country.