Students, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the EU office in Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered in Zenica on 25 October for the third debate on the need for future reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to BiH Khaldoun Sinno welcomed the debate as a necessary step in the process of continuous reforms of the BiH economy and society.“Your talent is needed to move this country forward. You are a part of this society, you are voters, you are taxpayers. Do not underestimate your worthiness because, at the end of the day, this needs to be designed and implemented by yourself,” said Mr Sinno, calling on the 200 students participating in the discussion to take a more active part in debate about the future of the country.
Panellists at the debate, including Dzenan Kulovic, the Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and Students’ Issues at the Faculty of Economics in Zenica, Venan Hadziselimovic, CEO of the Hifa-Oil Group, Jasmin Porobic, manager of the Exclusive company, Indira Mundzic, deputy manager of the Health Insurance Fund of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and Amir Kundulic, working for the International Organization for Migration, presented their views about the needed reforms of both the BiH economy and society.
All those present demonstrated a great level of interest in the topics of the debate, raising a whole range of issues, from taxation policies to the lack of a well-functioning link between the BiH industry and education sectors, to opportunities for first employment.
The first two debates in the series took place in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, with the one in Zenica being the first after the elections. The aim of the debates is to consult representatives of various groups in BiH, including students, about the problems and priorities that BiH should focus on in the upcoming period, especially in light of the Reform Agenda implementation period expiring this year.
