The Centre for Civil Initiatives (CCI) in cooperation with the Agency for Local Development Initiatives (ALDI) is implementing the two-year EU financed project “Education and Job”, which aims to improve workers’ rights and labour mobility by establishing a legal framework for adult education and by developing, advocating and monitoring legislation for adult education at the level of cantons, entities and Brcko District. The project will focus on the adoption of a coherent and harmonized legal framework in the country, which refers to education, additional training and retraining of adults in order to improve the situation on the labour market, i.e. to reduce unemployment and to improve the position of socially marginalized groups
In early July, CCI held a press conference where it presented the results of an analysis of the labour market, the structure of unemployment and the opportunities and barriers to job creation and strengthening of the labour market through rapid retraining, training and adult education. The importance of passing cantonal laws on adult education was emphasised in order to ensure that every citizen of BiH completes at least primary school. Just as important, these laws will provide rapid retraining, assistance to employers and unemployed persons, as well as job creation and self-employment. The event launched a campaign Edu&Job©, and for this purpose a special website has been activated at www.uciradi.ba , which will help unemployed persons, journalists, students, analysts, and everyone else in better understanding of the importance and opportunities for lifelong learning.
Parallel to these activities, CCI has been intensively advocating the passing of the BiH level Law on Adult Education. Prior to this, the relevant legislation needs to be adopted at the FBiH level (including cantonal). The RS already has such legislation in place. The result of these activities is that in the Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDC) the Law on Adult Education was adopted at the Assembly’s session held on August 13, 2014. As part of the advocacy activities for passing of the Law, CCI has organised a street stand in Zenica, which also promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The stand was organized just before the session of the Assembly, where the Law on Adult Education was considered, so CCI took the opportunity to invite representatives of the ZDC’s Assembly to unconditionally support the proposal of the law and thus to recognize the importance of adult education and lifelong learning, which can be of great benefit to citizens and ZDC economy.
On September 6, 2014, the Assembly of Tuzla Canton unanimously adopted a Draft Law on Adult Education. The decision was also reached to hold a public debate that would last for 20 days. CCI and ALDI actively participated in the public debate, through constructive proposals and suggestions, trying to make the Draft Law on Adult Education of the highest quality and an effective instrument in the fight against unemployment and poverty.
In Bosnia-Podrinje Canton Gorazde (BPC), the Assembly of BPC also unanimously adopted the Draft Law on Adult Education on September 11, 2014, and as in Zenica, a street stand was organized before the session in Gorazde. During the creation of the Draft Law, ALDI made a significant contribution by organising the Working Group for drafting of the said Law. The working group comprised representatives of the Ministry of Education, Youth, Science, Culture and Sports of BPC, the director of the Employment Bureau of BPC, the Cantonal Associations of Employers, Educational Institutions and other interested parties.
In mid-September, the first report on monitoring of implementation of the Laws on Adult Education in Republika Srpska and Una-Sana Canton and monitoring of progress in the process of adoption of these laws in the parts of the country that have not systematically regulated the above area was presented to the public. The main conclusions of the report are that adult education is not fully regulated by appropriate legislation at the relevant levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the existing legal framework does not provide sufficient means for exercising of the rights of adults to education and the right to a quality education. Formal adult education is jagged and uneven, while non-formal education is almost completely unregulated. In addition, adult education in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not given enough attention, and is peripheral as a social issue. CCI will continue monitoring of implementation of public policies in the field of education. In this way it will continue its advocacy campaign for the passing of adequate and coordinated laws throughout the country.
www.uciradi.ba
