Youth empowerment across various programmatic activities
Last year, the story of a young woman from Novi Sad born without upper limbs who became a taekwondo champion went viral in Serbia, causing the admiration of many peers. Despite physical and emotional challenges, 20-year-old Tijana had grown into a confident, brave and ambitious young woman.
“Today, Tijana is European vice-champion in taekwondo. Also, she has recently hosted her own solo exhibition of paintings done with her left foot. But none of that would have been possible, if she hadn’t had a strong support system to rely on. Family, friends, good education, scholarships, a faculty considerate of vulnerable groups - all of these played a crucial role in helping Tijana exploit her full potential,” the Mission’s Youth Focal Point, Milena Stosic, told some hundred participants at the youth-empowerment conference Inclusion Live 2.0 in Belgrade in September 2018.
Young generations have a vital role in building a democratic and inclusive society. In light of this, the Mission has been targeting youth more intensely in the recent years across all of its programmes with a particular focus on regional connectivity and education.
“Young people are critical change actors in matters of global importance and major resources for security and sustainable development, economic prosperity and democratic progress,” Orizio explains.We are putting youth at the center of our activities. They have the potential to shape their own future and create a better tomorrow for the whole society.
Promoting political participation through CRTA’s Democracy Academy
One of the many areas in which the OSCE Mission to Serbia seeks to empower youth is in the sphere of political participation. Many young people in Serbia have lost faith in democracy and some even question its importance for a free society. According to a survey conducted by KOMS (National Youth Council of Serbia) in 2018, only 30 per cent of young people believe that democracy represents the best form of government (compared with the 58 per cent European average).
The OSCE Mission to Serbia in co-operation with the CRTA (Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability) implements the Democracy Academy every year with the goal of strengthening political participation and bringing politics closer to the youth in Serbia. The Democracy Academy offers students, youth representatives of civil society organizations, junior journalists and young people active in political parties a set of courses in democracy. Launched in 2016, it runs six modules covering the country’s political and electoral system, independent institutions, the judiciary and the role of parliament as a primary point of political dialogue. The programme also includes simulations of parliamentary sessions and discussions with MPs and parliamentary staff. The lectures are delivered by university professors, experts, politicians and public servants.
“What I particularly like about the Academy is that it applies interactive and interdisciplinary methods to enhance the critical thinking, leadership ability and soft skills of young people. Subjects usually perceived as dry are taught in a lively way. Participants learn to carefully analyse and debate topics by applying the concepts taught to them during simulations,” says Natasa Sakota, the Mission’s programme co-ordinator.
Enhancing media and digital literacy through the Brave New Media Forum
Equipping the young generation with the right set of tools is not sufficient for them to become leaders and activists. In order to empower young people in a sustained manner we have to make sure that their voice is being heard.
The Brave New Media Forum is a platform that serves precisely this purpose. An annual regional conference organized in Belgrade by the Deutsche Welle (DW) Academy since 2017, it gives a voice to young people by creating a dialogue between the older and younger generations.
The OSCE Mission to Serbia has a long history of co-operation with the DW Academy in organizing training courses, mainly on media issues. It helped to bring the Forum into existence and shape its programme, contributing its expertise on the local context.
The Brave New Media Forum gathers around 150 youngsters from across Serbia and 50 speakers from all over the world. They discuss trends in media production for children and youth, analyse the habits and needs of young media consumers and propose models for legacy media to adapt their production and distribution to demands of new audiences.
Klaus Dahmann, DW’s Country Manager for Serbia and the Western Balkans believes that for young people to become strong leaders they must be given the chance to express their views. “The Brave New Media Forum shows that the young generation in Serbia is very much willing to engage in society – but there are so few occasions where the elder generation gives them the opportunity to speak their mind. They have very clear, precious and innovative ideas, so let's listen to them,” he says.
The divide between young and old is very evident in the Serbian media landscape. Young people in Serbia feel that the youth perspective is often overlooked, not least because of differences in tools and mindset.
“The majority of Serbian media is uninterested in writing for the young and even if they want to write for us, they are unable to reach us due to the disparity between our ways of communication. Most teenagers are informed by tabloids, which are more active on social media than traditional Serbian media outlets, but their news is often sensationalist and inaccurate,” explains Lazar Simic, a young journalist trainee who attended the latest Brave New Media Forum, held in October 2018. “This has led to a complete deprivation of interest among youngsters in being informed,” he adds.
The Brave New Media Forum gave Simic the opportunity to meet other young people who are trying to change the media landscape in Serbia. “They are present on every social media platform used by our generation and they inform us in understandable language. They give us a chance to finally be heard and at the same time they give an example for traditional media on how they should adapt to write for both youngsters and others. Basically, new media are improving the overall position of young people in Serbia in multiple ways, and I’m utterly inspired by what they do and achieve,” he says.
Fostering mutual understanding through the Novi Pazar – Brčko Student Exchange
In a region that is known for its multiethnic communities where tensions are still common today, fostering mutual understanding must be a priority for any programme of youth empowerment.
In November 2017 and again in the fall of 2018, more than 50 young people from two historically multicultural communities, Novi Pazar in Serbia and the Brčko District in Bosnia and Herzegovina, came together as part of a student exchange programme led jointly by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and supported by the British Embassy in Belgrade.
Symbolically named “We create the future together”, the exchange was a unique opportunity for young people from the two communities to share experiences, while also working towards a shared future. They participated in interactive sessions, site visits and topical debates on interculturalism, community development, tolerance, youth activism and online and offline communication.
When the young people from Brcko came to visit us in 2017, we went to the mountain resort of Kopaonik for five days of seminars. At the end of the five days, both sides went home in tears. We came from similar environments and we grew very close. I didn’t expect that.
Over the two-year period, friendships were formed and solidified, and a network of young people committed to youth activism and intercultural values was established.
Going forward
The 2019 Slovak Chairmanship of the OSCE is committed to encouraging youth engagement and participation in all areas of public life. All three of the projects described above are in line with that priority.
“Going forward in 2019, the OSCE Mission to Serbia will further develop new approaches to strengthening the role of youth. Young people want to be engaged and involved, and should be invited to participate in local community planning, programming and public policy development. They have ideas, and want a seat at the table. Failing to support and nurture young people will only result in brain drain, which will weaken the country’s most valuable asset – its people,” Head of Mission Orizio says.