The presentation of best practices of Community programmes for youth organised by the EU funded project “EU support to the coordination and implementation of BiH’s National Youth Policy (EUNYP)“, was held in Laktaši municipality today.

The objective of the event was to promote the work of Laktasi Municipality (in cooperation with NGOs) in responding to actual and youth relevant needs, to identify and elaborate possible ideas on how to further improve response to identified needs at this level and to raise awareness on importance of youth strategy.

During the event the participants had the opportunity to discuss the identified needs of youth in Laktasi. Young people in Laktasi, as well as in BiH, are faced with different, often interrelated challenges that affect various aspects of their lives, starting from education and a lack of employment opportunities within the labour market through to insufficient social protection and living standards.

The main aim of the event was therefore to present and recommend three models of country specific EU community programmes that will addresses the situation of youth in various areas in Laktasi.

Although it is important to change young people not only in Laktasi, but in BiH from a passive to an active approach, where they take responsibility for their own future, it was noted that it needs to be explored further, on how stakeholders can support this approach. The Laktasi municipality through its youth strategy can encourage youth in their endeavours.

Participants of the event were local public officials as well as selected representatives of youth sector in Laktaši.

The European Union funds this project through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA 2008) in the amount of 606,000 Euro. The EUNYP project – www.youthpolicy.ba – aims at improving the position of youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the creation of the appropriate conditions for better and more efficient dialogue and more functional coordination among the stakeholders responsible for youth issues in BiH. The Project started in January 2012 and will last until the end of December 2013. It is implemented by a Consortium led by EEO Group S.A. in association with EPRD Ltd, Particip Gmbh and OKC. The main project partner is Commission for the Coordination of Youth Issues in BiH (CCYI).

For more information, please contact the project team at info@youthpolicy.ba