OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports municipalities in drafting local youth action plans

Strengthening the capacity of local self-government officials to develop youth action plans that support youth participation in local communities is the focus of a training session organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Ministry of Sports and Youth in Kolašin from 25 to 27 September.

Over three days, 28 representatives of 19 Montenegrin local self-governments learnt how to design activities for young people based on their needs and to collaborate with different stakeholders when drafting action plans as contemplated by the youth policy.

Opening the training session, Mr. Giovanni Gabassi, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission, said that the Mission had worked with young people and a variety of stakeholders to design activities that promote and enhance youth inclusion in decision making processes, in line with the Youth Strategy. “Today is an opportunity for you as professionals, to develop the skill and tools to include youth in your everyday work through an even and consistent implementation of youth policies at the local level. The knowledge you will gain from this training, and hopefully you will share with your colleagues, should enable you to include young people in the work of your communities, where their voice should be heard and their opinions taken into consideration,” said Gabassi.

Ms. Milica Bešović-Ljumović, Acting General Director of Directorate for Youth and Co-operation with NGOs in the Ministry, emphasized the importance of preparing action plans as a concrete step to improve the position of young people in Montenegro. She added that the Law on Youth was being amended and she invited participants to provide their suggestions and comments on the revised text.

After this week’s training session, the Mission-engaged experts will provide mentoring support to participants in finalizing their local youth action plans for submission to the Ministry of Sports and Youth by 31 October

The 2019 Law on Youth prescribes that local self-governments are obliged to draft and adopt annual local youth action plans, containing youth policy measures and activities for realizing the interests and needs of young people on the local level by 31 December of each year.