YIA DEVELOPING LOCAL POLICY TOWARDS YOUTH - HANDBOOK AND SEMINAR: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND YOUTH (10.-12.11.2006.)

YIA BiH has prepared a new handbook on one of the most important themes for young people in BiH, as well as for development of local communities (cities and municipalities) – and that is local policy regarding youth. Creating local policy towards youth or youth policy should be the goal for every local government in BiH wishing to systematically arrange their care for youth and to address their needs in such way. In one part of the country it is even legal obligation after the enactment of the Law on youth organising in RS which took place exactly two years ago, bet generally speaking, it is a part of European practice systematised by the European Charter on participation of young people in municipal and regional life (Council of Europe 1992/2003).

Handbook Local government and youth was published by YIA BiH with the support of the Suisse Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues (IBHI), Open Society Fund BiH, and Care International with Mott Foundation. Full handbook will be available online on the website for youth workers www.PORno.ba.

Due to all stated reasons, YIA has, together with its partners, launched the project for Development of local policy towards youth in BiH. A working group was formed from representatives of municipalities and cities in BiH, and it has been directly engaged on the creation of the resource material, the Handbook. Also, we analysed experiences, the practice and needs of other municipalities and cities and various youth organisations in BiH.

As a result of all these activities a handbook was made representing the series of concrete steps (elements, documents and procedures) needed for development of policy towards youth on local levels. The Handbook helps local government to create effective policy towards youth and to achieve successful cooperation with young people and youth organisations, all for the purpose of improving the status of the youth.

Beside three regional promotions of the handbook held on November 3rd in Mostar, on November 7th in Bijeljina and on 13.11 in Banja Luka, YIA organised a working seminar also used for promoting of the handbook Local Government and Youth for the mixed group of 80 participants, mainly young people from various organisations and youth workers from different cities, in the Terme Hotel, in Ilidža, from November 10th to November 12th, 2006.

Participants were introduced to examples of good practices. It was about experiences of local youth organisations which have, together with local government and through joint projects and successful cooperation, created and implemented youth policy for municipalities thus creating better conditions for work and development of young people. In the working session of the seminar, workgroups have elaborated over different issues regarding youth policy, on policy actors, which should exist in every local community and should jointly work on preparation and implementation of local policy towards youth, as well as on instruments of the policy towards youth, the tools directly influencing improvement of the youth’s position. The attention was also given to the contents and challenges of the local policy towards youth.

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