SARAJEVO – RYCO Local Branch Officer in Bosnia and Herzegovina Ms Berina Bukva took part in a working meeting on defining the status and needs of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The meeting was organized by UNFPA in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, 24 May.
Ms Bukva moderated a panel discussion where she pointed out that, very often, there is no legal barrier for improving position of young people in BiH – there are good laws and legislation framework on youth, but that their implementation is challenging and creates less opportunities for youth in BiH.
The meeting was held after continuous dialogue of UNFPA with government institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, civil society organizations and RYCO Local Branch Officer in BiH. The expert conducting the assessment, Head of the Department of Social Policy and Development at UNDESA Mr Oleg Serezhin, emphasized several times during the meeting that in all youth-related actions, young people must be involved and speak up.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that UNFPA wants to include and ask young people, representatives of youth councils, organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, what the main challenges are for them at this point.
The meeting gathered more than 40 people from the governmental, non-governmental and international sector. Representatives of the both entities’ youth councils were present, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Federation of BiH and Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport of the Republic of Srpska, where they also had the opportunity to present their insights and findings regarding the position of young people.
Representative of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH Ms Mirela Alihodzic, who is Head of Ministry’s Mobility and Youth Department, pointed out that, at all levels of government, there is a lack of program and strategic approach to support the improvement of position of young people in BiH. In this regard, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides full support for empowering young people and achieving their potential to take on a leading role in society and makes efforts to improve general situation for young people in BiH, through programs such as ERASMUS + or RYCO. She pointed out that the meeting is a great momentum and opportunity to hear main challenges of BH youth and to envisage future joint steps in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
UNFPA process of conducting the needs assessment of young people in BiH is an ongoing process. RYCO is fully committed and will participate in the future activities within the process.