Students of the Economics Faculty in Bihać participated today in a presentation of the ‘EU for You – E4U’ project. The initiator of the project, EU Ambassador to BiH Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, answered numerous questions that students had about the possibilities provided for them through this project as well as other programmes implemented by the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In his reply to one of the students who asked what an individual could do to bring about the much needed changes in the country, Ambassador Wigemark emphasised that young people are the biggest resource of BiH and that they must become its driving force. “There are different ways through which you, as individuals, can actively participate in society, be it through voting, civic activism, volunteering, developing entrepreneurship, etc. It is up to you to use those opportunities to affect change whether through the system or projects such as the one we are presenting today,” said Ambassador Wigemark.
During the discussion, all of the students expressed their desire to stay in BiH, provided that some things needed to change. First and foremost, they referred to the education system as old fashioned and not offering students with enough opportunities to gain practical knowledge about professions for which they are being educated. Students also stressed that the lack of internship opportunities at BiH institutions and equally at local businesses made it that much harder for them to be equipped with enough knowledge and skills to enter the labour market.
The E4U project has been launched with Info Days at eight public universities in BiH. These events are an opportunity for students to find out more about the project as well as to meet with the project team and hear what is coming up.
Students from the public universities, i.e. 14 faculties from BiH will, with the assistance of their mentors and experts, work on creating public information campaigns which illustrate perceptions of youth about socio-economic reforms with special emphasis on education, employment and entrepreneurship.
The next Info days will take place in Mostar, Bijeljina and Tuzla.
