Naslov
Youth Policy in Serbia

Autori
Potočnik, Dunja ; Williamson, Howard

Izvornik
Youth Policy in Serbia

Vrsta, podvrsta
Ostale vrste radova, izvještaj

Godina
2016

Ključne riječi
Youth; Serbia; youth policy

Sažetak
The International Review Team (IRT), constituted and co-ordinated by the Council of Europe, had the pleasure of being invited by the Republic of Serbia to carry out a review of youth policy at the invitation of State Secretary Mr. Nenad Borovčanin. The Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport (MoYS) expressed its wish to tailor a new national youth strategy in accordance with international standards and, in part, on the basis of the judgements and perspectives of a team with expertise in youth policy, as well as youth work, youth research and wider youth practice. The review consisted of two visits organised by the MoYS and insights gathered through studying documentation provided by the ministry prior to the first visit. The first visit and the documents provided led to a focus by the IRT on seven priority issues of youth policy in Serbia: 1) education ; 2) labour market ; 3) information, access to rights and visibility ; 4) participation ; 5) social inclusion ; 6) health and safety/security ; and 7) mobility. There may be other important issues outside the parameters of these seven priorities but, rather than “spreading the butter too thin”, the IRT sought to concentrate its attention on those issues that it considered to be the most significant, and challenging, in the lives of young people and in relation to the policies directed towards them. The IRT recognises and acknowledges the tremendous efforts undertaken by the state, in the course of less than a decade, to improve the status of youth in Serbia by devising clear policy guidelines and putting in place corresponding structures and practices at the national, regional and local level. Since the establishment of the MoYS in 2007 several crucial reforms have taken place and young people in Serbia now have the opportunity to escape the invisibility engendered by the paternalistic attitudes of the former structures that dealt with youth affairs. Alongside these substantive reforms there has also been an attempt to introduce monitoring and evaluation systems around youth policy development and implementation. However, the numerous indicators (700) elaborated by the National Youth Strategy (NYS) have not been adequate for the task of monitoring and improving the unfolding youth policy. An open panel with youth organisations during the IRT’s second visit concluded that only 20% to 30% of the NYS has been implemented satisfactorily. Respondents asserted that the Local Action Plans, on which the concrete delivery of the strategic goals have largely hinged, have been implemented to an even lesser degree, mainly due to inadequate adaptation of these plans to the needs of young people and the lack of financial and infrastructural prerequisites for operationalisation at the local level. Despite the commendable and sometimes impressive progress in the youth field over the past seven years, this review has produced conclusions on seven cross-cutting issues at the heart of youth policy in Serbia that suggest there are serious obstacles to the further development and implementation of a coherent youth policy: – centralisation and politicisation ; – transparency ; – civic versus traditional structures ; – horizontal and vertical communication ; – weaknesses in intersectoral co- operation ; – fragmentation of the youth field and resources ; – lack of sustainability. Following the elucidation and discussion of these obstacles, and in the spirit of a critical constructive approach to the review, the IRT also provides recommendations directed towards both governmental bodies and non- governmental organisations in the field of youth.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija, Pravo, Politologija

POVEZANOST RADA