The Youth–Government Dialogue in Ilidža Municipality, called “New Strategy – New Opportunities”, brought together young people, municipal officials, councillors, and members of the working group responsible for drafting the Youth Strategy 2025–2029. The aim was to improve communication and cooperation between young people and decision-makers, the they can jointly shape measures and activities within the Strategy that will improve the lives of youth in Ilidža.
During the Dialogue, the key activities envisaged under the Youth Strategy were presented, and young participants were given the opportunity to share their ideas and provide comments on planned activities in areas such as education, employment, health, social care, safety, culture, sport, activism, and volunteering.
During moderated discussions, participants openly discussed challenges, participation in social life, and needs that should be incorporated into all measures planned under the Youth Strategy.
Municipal representatives and councillors actively responded to questions raised by young people, explained available avenues for action, and highlighted the importance of working together. Enabling and fostering this type of dialogue demonstrated how important it is to provide young people with space to share their views and be acknowledged as active partners in the development of local policies.
The proposals and recommendations put forward by young people will be an important contribution to finalising the Youth Strategy, while the event itself shows the commitment of Ilidža Municipality to building a practice of open communication and long-term cooperation with young people.
These activities are part of the project “Designing, Developing and Adopting Youth Policies”, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Youth Development KULT in partnership with the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), the Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Network of youth centers for animation, development and training of Republika Srpska (M.O.C.A.R.T.) and the Association of Secondary School Students in BiH.
