The results of the Research on the efficiency of local mechanisms for improvement of the position of young people, which was conducted from July – October 2013 in 16 border municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were presented on November 28 at the conference organized in Bijeljina.
Vedrana Subotic from the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska stated that: “Youth Commissions which are established in 90% of the municipalities and cities in the cross-border region of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in their work so far have not succeeded to respond to the needs of youth or to increase their participation in decision making processes in local communities”.
The results of the research conducted within the project „Youth – Most Important Driving Engine of our Region“ have proven that the problems facing youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are almost identical. Secondary school students from the cross-border municipalities of Serbia-Bosnia and Herzegovina think that unemployment, poverty and low quality education present the most frequent issues which this population is facing on daily basis.
Vanesa Belkic from the Center for Equitable Regional Development – CenTrir states that „The focus of attention of all local actors resposnsible for the implementation of youth policy needs to be changed, as well as to think of more efficient ways for includion of a greater number of young people in every day work of existing youth service providers.
The financial funds for the project implemented by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska from Bijeljina and the Center for Equitable Regional Development – CenTrir from Belgrade were provided by the European Union within the IPA Cross-border Programme Serbia – Bosnia nad Herzegovina.
More information you can find on web site Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska (local i English language) and on web site CenTriR