On Monday, November 14, an online panel discussion “Youth Guarantee: From the EU to the Western Balkans” was held, with the aim of focusing on the most important conclusions from the review of public policies entitled “Guarantees for youth development in the Western Balkans”, as well as from experiences and lessons learned from the implementation process of the Youth Guarantee scheme at the EU level, but also in Serbia and North Macedonia.
The panel discussion was opened by Anja Jokić, program coordinator of KOMS, and Krisela Hakaj, program director of the Institute for Cooperation and Development. This was followed by a discussion in which they participated:
- Panayotis Chatsimihail, Member of the Board of Directors, European Youth Forum (YFJ);
- Filip Kulakov, Program Manager, National Youth Council of Macedonia (NMSM);
- Milica Borjanić, Program Manager, Youth Umbrella Organization of Serbia (KOMS).
The three of them looked at different perspectives, challenges and lessons learned in the implementation of the Youth Guarantee in the European Union, as well as the two economies of the Western Balkans.
What we learned and concluded through the discussion is that the following is necessary for the successful implementation of Youth Guarantees:
• Partnership between youth umbrella associations and institutions responsible for youth issues and employment issues;
• Involvement of youth umbrella associations, youth organizations and young people in the creation and implementation of public policies, as well as their monitoring.
We also concluded that:
• The importance of youth umbrella associations and youth organizations is greatest when it comes to reaching young people and promoting the Youth Guarantee program; as if they were
• Adequate financial support necessary to make all listed efforts possible and sustainable.
If you missed watching the panel discussion live, you can watch it on our Facebook page via the link.
The panel discussion was held as part of Connecting Youth, which brings together youth organizations from the Western Balkans and is coordinated by the Institute for Cooperation and Development (CDI) with the support of the Hannes Seidel Foundation.