According to the latest data from the annual edition of the Regional Youth Participation Index, 17.1 percent of young people under the age of 29 in Serbia are unemployed, and the total number of people in prisons in Serbia are made up of 35.8 percent of young people (under 29), which is an increase of 12 percent in comparison to the previous year.
These are just some of the details of the research contained in the Index, which will be presented on Tuesday, January 30, starting at 11 am, in the Belgrade Youth Center (Sala Klub DOB).
Statements for the media are scheduled between 11-11:30am.
At the conference, the new, seventh edition of the annual Youth Participation Index will be presented, but there will also be an open space for discussion on the topic of the position of young people in NEET status, that is, young people who are not employed, or in the education and training process.
The conference will be opened by Ana Koeshell, director of the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, Matthieu Penot, project manager of the EU Delegation in Serbia, as well as Ivana Antonijević, assistant minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Youth and Mirjana Mirosavljević Bobić, manager of the “WB&T for EmploYouth” project.
The results of the latest edition of the Youth Participation Index will be presented to participants at the conference by Ksenija Čović, researcher at the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, and support will be provided by Snežana Klašnja, advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Youth, Sarita Bradaš, sociologist at the Association Ružica from Arilje, Tijana Marić, miller and entrepeneur, as well as Milana Sekulić, advisor for active employment policy monitoring in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterns and Social Affairs.
For the past seven years, the Youth Participation Index (YPI) has been published as a mechanism for gaining insight into the broad political, economic and social context that can empower or hinder youth participation in society. Covering a seven-year series of data collected from 2016 to 2022, the YPI provides a comprehensive overview of youth opportunities through the lens of 25 indicators of political, economic and social participation.
By bringing together relevant data on the situation of young people, this Index represents a concrete tool for decision-makers and civil society organizations in creating programs adapted to the real needs of young people. The Annual Index also provides the possibility of monitoring positive or negative trends, which significantly contributes to the planning of further steps in improving the position of young people.
The conference will discuss the results of the Index, which show insufficient representation of young people in political life, exclusion from employment and education, long periods of unemployment and the risk of poverty, especially for young people from vulnerable groups such as young women and rural youth.
Given that this conference represents an opportunity for discussion on how data from the latest research can be used for more targeted support for young people, especially young people from vulnerable groups, representatives of key institutions, experts, media, and civil society organizations will gather from Serbia.
The conference is implemented within the project "WB&T for EmploYouth" - Support for the employment of young people from vulnerable groups in Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Turkey. The Youth Participation Index was developed by the Western Balkans and the Turkey Youth Hub Network (YHWBT Network). The network consists of 68 civil society organizations and its goal is to ensure greater involvement of young people in Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. The network is coordinated by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation from Serbia in partnership with Partners Albania for Change and Development from Albania, Youth Alliance - Kruševo from North Macedonia, NGO Prima from Montenegro and Community Volunteers Foundation (TOG) from Turkey.
The project is supported by the European Commission, as part of its efforts to constantly improve the attitude of decision-makers towards young people.
We invite you to cover this event in the media.
You can find the event agenda below.