INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE BALKANS IN DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES

22. May 2020.

The new project of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will establish "youth laboratories" which, together with policy makers, will deal with important issues common to all young people in the Western Balkans. Those issues include employment, entrepreneurship and education, while the goal is to engage and involve young people in the decision-making process, the RCC said in a statement.

The project called "Youth Laboratory of the Western Balkans" refers to Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia, as well as Kosovo and Metohija, while it is claimed that young people in those countries make up 21.27 percent of the total population.

The project, which will last for three years, is financed by the European Union with 1.5 million euros. During the project, cooperation will be established "with national administrations, national youth councils, umbrella youth organizations, donors and other relevant stakeholders."

The RCC expects that the involvement of young people in decision-making will prevent the departure of skilled labor, migration of workers, and mismatch of diplomas with the labor market and that the extremely high unemployment rate among young people in the region will be reduced.

"We should finally shift the focus from a policy that drives young people from the region to a policy that includes young people, listens to what they have to say and respects their voice," the RCC stated.

The RCC estimated that "now is the right time to do that, since 61% of young people from the Western Balkans agree that the things that bond the region are much more important than those that break it up."

Source: Civic Initiatives and Coordination Body