Young people should get involved in policy making

The conclusion of the “Youth at the Forefront of European Policies“ conference held in Belgrade Youth Centre, was that young people should get involved in decision making process.

With the support of the EU Delegation and EU Info Centre, Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sports together with the Embassy of Greece to Serbia organised the conference on Friday April 11, on the occasion of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The main topic of the jointly organised conference was the role of the youth in policy making process.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt said young people play an extremely important role in the accession negotiations with the EU.

„For this process, we need you too! We want you to get involved, to go and see and explore Europe, to try to understand what is good about the EU, what is not so good, what can be changed, what can you change?”, Benedikt said.

The European Union is currently implementing several programmes in which young people from Serbia can participate, while the EU Delegation continues its support to young people through various programmes, as well as through the cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Benedikt added.

Greek Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Constantine Economides said that young people in Serbia and Greece share common problems, with the unemployment being the biggest one.

„We have to work together in order to reduce unemployment,” said Economides.

He also added that “Greece will do everything possible to help its Serbian friends during our Presidency of the Council of the European Union.”

National Coordinator at the Serbia Tempus Office Marija Filipović Ožegović presented some of the EU programmes, for which Serbian citizens are eligible to apply.

„The EU’s new programme  – Erasmus+ – will comprise all of the youth programmes, such as Erasmus Mundus, Youth in Action, or Tempus,” said Filipović Ožegović.

The “Youth at the Forefront of European Policies“  conference followed the March 2014 “EU Youth Conference” held in Thessaloniki that adopted the guidelines for improving the situation of young people in the EU.

According to Snežana Klašnja Assistent Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, following the conference, the above mentioned Ministry will also define its youth recommendations.