Young people in the Federation of BiH may soon have a new body that will advocate for better programs and youth policies, and by doing so contribute to improving the lives of young people in BiH. This initiative will be spearheaded by the Youth Council of BiH, and the Institute for Youth Development KULT will provide financial and advisory support in this process.
Today, the Youth Council of FBiH and the Institute signed an agreement to implement the project Council for Youth – Strengthening mechanisms for youth participation in decision-making processes in FBiH. The project will advocate for the founding of a Council for Youth, as stipulated in the Youth Law of FBiH.
“This mechanism, although stipulated as mandatory under the Youth Law, has yet to be implemented, and the Youth Council of FBiH seed this as an opportunity to strengthen the involvement of youth in decision-making processes”, said Jasmina Banjalučkić, General Secretary of the Youth Council of FBiH.
The Council for Youth is a body that should include representatives of all ministries in the FBiH Government whose purview includes youth, and representatives of youth named by the Youth Council of FBiH, in equal numbers.
“It’s important to have an equal ratio of youth and government representatives so that young people can have an opportunity to share a space with decision-makers and directly advocate for youth policies and programs, without being outvoted to start with”, says Jasmina.
Republika Srpska already has a Council for Youth, as do other countries in the region. However, for the Council to bring about change youth can see it needs to be functional and youth need to proactively advocate for the programs they need. In addition to this advocacy platform, the Council will also be in charge of overseeing the implementation of the Youth Law in FBiH, and evaluating current youth policies and programs.
