Youth Day was marked yesterday, so Aldin Alic spoke on behalf of the Institute for Youth Development KULT, together with the representatives of the Zenica Youth Association REaktiv about the position of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Youth Day has been celebrated since the time of the former Yugoslavia, and even though now it is only a symbolic date, it represents an opportunity to point out the position of young people, just as it is on August 12th, the day for which the United Nations (UN) decided to be the International Youth Day.
In the past year, the coronavirus pandemic has affected young people who had to miss numerous programs and activities, including classes that were held online according to the decision of the authorities. KULT spokesman, Aldin Alic, told that the situation of young people is generally not favorable since there is no state strategy for youth, nor public registers and official records on the number of young people who have left BiH.
“The Institute for Youth Development KULT is currently conducting research on the position and needs of young people, and its first results will be done in the first half of June,” stated Alic, adding that support for young people differs in local communities:
“At the Institute, we have very good cooperation with the authorities, primarily at the local level, with whom we have supported 40 young people in the development of their businesses in the past two years. Last year, with the support of the Swedish Embassy in BiH, we allocated around 330.000 BAM for civic initiatives of young people, and for 16 years we have been conducting our training program ‘Learn, think and act’ within which we train young people to work in the community and prepare them for the labor market. Support for young people must always be stronger and more comprehensive by all actors who work with youth or have an obligation to them, ” the interlocutor explained.
Amrudin Catic spoke on behalf of the Youth Association “REaktiv” from Zenica, saying that young people in Zenica have been in a better position during the last few years than before.
“This is primarily due to fact that we got the Youth Center. The Commission for Youth Affairs has started its work, and funds have been recognized in the city budget to co-finance the work of the Center and develop the first Youth Strategy of Zenica. However, much work is needed, as well as institutional cooperation and support to young people so that it would be at the favorable level, but significant progress has been made. We will continue to be a partner of young people and in a way their representative voice, ” Catic told.
REaktiv is an association that manages the Center for Youth and their main focus is to create educational and entertainment content in the Center so they could offer young people a quality alternative to use their free time.
“Since the beginning of this year, we have organized or hosted about 50 activities for young people, such as education, quizzes, dance classes, social gatherings with social games or dialogue events where we present successful individuals from our environment when it comes to different spheres. Everything we do is focused on young people, but also directly includes them,” Catic added.
In the end, he emphasized that their vision is to be the leading center for youth in BiH and that they are going towards that goal day by day with a focus on young people from Zenica, Klix
Politicians rarely comment on the departure of the population from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Are they concerned about the fact that hundreds of thousands of able-bodied, educated and young people, as well as complete families, have left BiH in the last few years? A large number of departures are recorded daily by the Una-Sana Canton (USC), which is the leader in this infamous statistics.
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“People are moving for a better life, that is the reason.”
“They don’t have the employment opportunity, the greater opportunity can be found abroad, as well as better salaries.”
There are no prospects, the statistics are relentless and worrying. In the past year and the first two months of this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of USC issued more than 11.400 police clearance certificates, most of which are for employment abroad.
“Either they may study abroad or they intend to leave BiH at this time and look for employment in countries of the European Union (EU),” told Alen Siljdedic, spokesperson for the USC Police Administration.
”Every month or two, a student approaches me and informs me that he has to leave school because he has to go abroad with his parents. Mom or dad go first, and then the children join, ” said Jasmin Hodzic, director of the Bihac Gymnasium.
Not even the coronavirus pandemic managed to prevent people from leaving the USC. Whole families are leaving, and precisely because of that, schools in Bihac have recorded a smaller number of students in the last few years.
“Greater opportunities for studying, better universities, better education system, better jobs and opportunities, everything that our state does not provide,” stated Sarah Budimlic, student of the Bihac High School.
“Percentages of corruption are much lower, employment is easier, opportunities for advancement are much better,” said Dalila Majetic, student of the Bihac High School.
The consequences of this are long lists of teachers who are redundant, which is why they often leave a precarious job and move to a new, safer life.
“Even though they currently have 10-15 hours in the teaching, they are thinking that in 4 years they will not have even 5. So, people start the procedure of nostrification and recognition of diplomas and departure for Germany, Austria. We used to have 4 classes that go to the 6th grade, nowadays there are only two, ” told Belmana Trivunic, director of the Elementary School “Harmani I” Bihac.
People with crafts are leaving, as well as highly educated citizens, which means people of different profiles are leaving. In the countries of Western Europe, they are valuable, above all esteemed workers, while in our country they are only seasonal budget fillers. If the authorities would deal with this issue more than with keeping their comfortable seats and functions, the situation in BiH would certainly be much better, BHRT writes.
E.Dz.
