Youth

As part of the CSAI program's efforts to support youth advocacy, our partner Civic Initiatives conducts a range of activities to get youth involved in civic activism and decision making.

Civic Initiatives' programs have collaborated with both local groups and the national government to promote youth advocacy. Civic Initiatives backed the adoption of a National Youth Strategy and then supported the establishment of the Ministry of Youth and Sport—which now actively works with Civic Initiatives to address youth issues. In late 2007, with help from the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Civic Initiatives and the Youth Coalition of Serbia launched a new advocacy campaign to form a National Youth Umbrella Organization, and in early 2008 the Ministry presented a draft National Youth Strategy to the government that reflected the input and recommendations of young people and youth-oriented civil society organizations across the country.

With funding from USAID, Civic Initiatives developed a capacity-building program for youth offices and activities aimed at empowering local youth groups. Through CSAI, Civic Initiatives is now working with the Ministry of Youth and Sport to build its capacity at the national and local levels and to facilitate the creation of a National Action Plan for Youth.

Civic Initiatives also aims to open Youth Clubs and establish both these and the Youth Offices as sustainable ways to cultivate youth advocates in their communities. To this end, they will help establish management and decision-making processes to best involve youth in the activities and administration of the Offices and Clubs. Civic Initiatives also wants to develop cooperation with relevant stakeholders in the project to raise the visibility of the Offices and Clubs, and assure the legal and financial sustainability of the program by creating a legislative framework for Youth Offices, currently missing from the law on local self-government.

To date, Civic Initiatives has established more than 70 Youth Offices around the country, and works to develop local Youth Offices that incorporate participation by youth groups. Getting youth groups actively involved helps effectively to support and empower the local youth sector, develop local youth policy, and further implement the National Youth Strategy. Youth offices provide young people a space and tools to become influential actors and decision-makers in their communities by creating Youth Councils, for example, so young people can advocate for their interests in local policy decisions. Youth Clubs sponsor activities ranging from classes in foreign languages or resume writing to recreational events such as breakdancing and hip-hop competitions.