Youth in BiH are marginalized due to the unfavorable economic and political situation and years of neglect by the government. This was one of the conclusions of the roundtable “Youth Policies Ahead of 2018 General Elections: What Do BiH Political Parties Offer to Youth?” of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
The participants noted that youth in BiH are facing a multitude of problems, with the unemployment rate of 55% being the biggest one. Other burning issues include an increase in poverty rates, lack of employment security and low standard of living.
Mirela Ajanović, from the Institute for Youth Development KULT offered solutions to some of the problems. The Institute has been working for years on finding strategic and legislative solutions for improving the position of youth, and some of the Institute’s efforts were presented to the participants.
Ajanović spoke about youth strategies, the importance of voting and the implementation of legislation that BiH already adopted. There were also discussions about the misalignment of the education system and the labour market, and the lack of opportunities for non-formal education, which further limits youth’s opportunities to find a job and advance.
Preventing youth from leaving the country was one of the most prominent topics in the election campaign.
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