The new three-year work cycle of the regional network of organizations dealing with youth “Youth Hub Western Balkans and Türkiye” has started within the project "Stronger Voices for Better Choices", it was announced this week at a joint conference in Podgorica. At the conference that brought together numerous representatives of organizations from the countries of the Western Balkans and Türkiye, it was said that organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are new members of the regional network, which now has 68 members from seven countries, and that in the coming period the network will focus on strengthening the capacity of youth organizations through mentoring and financial support, as well as monitoring inclusive policies and improving youth participation.
The active participation of citizens, especially young people, is of essential importance for sustainable reform processes in every society, and is especially relevant in the context of European integration, bearing in mind that all the countries participating in the project are candidates for EU membership, as well as that in all participating countries there is a low percentage of youth involvement in important decision-making processes in the community and current public policies do not sufficiently encourage their participation in political, economic and social life.
"Our goal is to improve the position of young people and their greater involvement in social, political and economic processes. We start with the assumption that citizen participation, especially participation of young people, is crucial for the sustainability of democratic processes, the protection of human rights, media freedom, the reduction of corruption and the outflow of young people from the region, as well as for progress in European integration," said Mirjana Mirosavljević Bobić, Project Manager at the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation.
The project uses three basic methods to achieve the desired results. First, evidence-based advocacy, which enables the collection and analysis of data on the situation of young people in the region, which provides decision-makers with precise insights into key problems and potential solutions, and also enables comparison of the situation between countries. Then strengthening the capacity of youth organizations, stating that through financial and mentoring support, the project empowers local organizations and informal youth groups to act effectively at the local level. The third method is to increase the visibility and influence of the civil sector through raising awareness of the importance of including young people in social processes, especially marginalized groups, such as young women and members of vulnerable communities.
"Special emphasis is placed on the inclusion of young women, bearing in mind that they participate in social processes significantly less than young men," said Mirosavljević Bobić.
It was also announced that the regional network Youth Hub Western Balkans and Türkiye will continue publishing the annual Youth Participation Index, which has been published for the past eight years and which represents a unique methodology for collecting data and monitoring the participation of young people in decision-making processes in various spheres.
The project "Stronger Voices for Better Choices", which is supported by the European Union, was developed by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation within the framework of the network Youth Hub Western Balkans and Türkiye in cooperation with the partner organizations Beyond Barriers from Albania, the Institute for Youth Development Kult from Bosnia and Herzegovina, NGO Prima from Montenegro, Democracy for Development from Kosovo, Youth Alliance Kruševo from North Macedonia and Community Volunteers Foundation from Türkiye.
