Quality assurance

There is no national level of quality assurance in youth standards in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Council of Ministers, at its 24th session, held on January 28, 2021, decided on the adoption of the “Improving the Quality and Relevance of Vocational Education and Training in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Based on Conclusions from Riga (2021-2030).”

The Brčko District Inspectorate has inspectors for NGOs, CSOs and foundations a practical possibility to legally control all activities of the non-governmental sector in finances and all other activities in the implementation of its program projects.

In 2018, the PRONI Center for Youth Development launched a new project OKORUZ (Quality Assurance of Youth Work in the Community) intended for the Network of Youth Clubs that operates in 26 local communities. The Network of Youth Clubs in Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the positive examples of work with young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where cooperation between the Government and NGO sectors is realized in the best possible way on common issues of importance for the youth in Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The PRONI Centre for Youth Development has signed agreements with ten municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina where those local communities (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Bihać, Cazin, Prijedor, Bosanski Petrovac, Bijeljina, Trebinje and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina) accept the PRONI Centre quality assurance mechanisms in youth work as their quality assurance standards. 

The PRONI Centre Quality Assured Community Youth Work (OKORUZ) definitions:

The PRONI considers youth work as a planned program of education or activities designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young people through their voluntary participation with aim to engage young people with society and bring about social change in an unequal society.

Community youth work provides community-based activities for young people in a variety of settings throughout local communities, other CSO-s, government agencies, parents and volunteers.

OKORUZ is a youth work aimed at offering the best quality of the service to young people using Quality Assurance of Community Youth Work in Society (OKORUZ).

OKORUZ is a quality assurance tool developed by the PRONI Centre and other partner organizations, which provides three main results:

• To provide a mechanism for those working within the youth clubs, and those working in partnership with the youth clubs, to assess the quality of their interventions with young people,

• To enable youth workers and volunteers to monitor the impact of the services upon the lives of young people and identify areas for improvement,

• To enable the youth work managers to monitor and evaluate the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of services to young people.

OKORUZ will enable the youth clubs/youth NGOs to:

• Review youth work practice,

• Review the standards of achievement of young people,

• Review efficiency and effectiveness with which local resources are managed,

• Identify strengths and weaknesses,

• Propose key issues for change/action.

Principles underlying the OKORUZ:

• Young people being involved at all levels of the Quality Assurance Process,

• Quality Assurance process is developmental,

• Fairness,

• Transparency,

• Evidence-based,

• Linked to human rights-based principles.

The NGO Perpetuum Mobile has developed quality assurance standards for youth centers and has been using this methodology since 2011. Since 2013 the youth centers in Republika Srpska have formed M.O.C.A.R.T. - Network of Youth Centers for Animation, Development and Training. This network also uses the same quality assurance standards developed by the Perpetuum Mobile that consist of four categories: program standards, technical standards, human resource standards and ethical standards.

According to the "RAY Research Report 2021–2024" (2025), the need for quality standards is emphasized to improve youth work in the region.

A notable example of innovative quality assurance in youth work is the project “F4ctCheck” by the PRONI Centre for Youth Development, through which the first board game in Bosnia and Herzegovina was created to raise awareness about media literacy, reconciliation, and disinformation. The game was tested with 100 students from secondary and primary schools in Brčko District, promoting critical thinking and dialogue on these topics among young people.

Research and evidence supporting youth work

There is no systematic way of documenting, monitoring or evaluating youth work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Participative youth work

There are two existing models of participative youth work that are active in Bosnia and Herzegovina and those are youth clubs and youth centers activities, where young people can come and participate in local, national or international youth work activities. Two main organizations organizing participative youth work are the Perpetuum Mobile that works with the 27 youth centers in 26 municipalities, and the PRONI Centre for Youth Development, which works with more than 30 youth clubs in 12 municipalities.

• Youth centers:

Youth centers are "an accessible and adapted space for young people in which young people are continuously provided with activities and programs based on methods and principles of non-formal education with the aim of developing young people into conscious, responsible community members and creating conditions for their full potential." (Republika Srpska Law on Youth Organization, Official Gazette 1/12 of 5 January 2012)

Youth centers offer an alternative to youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina that faces a number of challenges such as high national unemployment (60%); extracurricular time that young people mostly spend with little or no money on the street which makes them vulnerable to passivity, depression, drug abuse, unprotected sex and participation in criminal activities; traditional theoretical education offered by schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina generally does not meet the needs of the modern labor market; devoting little or no time to issues faced by youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina such as: peer violence, internal interpersonal relationships, sexual and reproductive health, etc. through formal education.

In order to ensure quality and institutionally recognized daily work with youth, youth centers through its work actively advocate for the standardization of the work of youth centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The existence of standards will ensure the development of quality services of existing youth centers; improvement of program activities, technical, personnel and ethical standards; regulating the status of youth centers when applying for competitions of both domestic and international funds; and finally, increasing youth participation in society.

In 2011, the Perpetuum Mobile conducted the first survey of youth centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Youth Centers - holders of youth work, in order to assess the situation regarding the form of youth centers, their capacities, status and impact. The research included 27 youth centers from 26 municipalities and showed that: "Youth centers are recognized as places that can bring together the largest number of young people, where young people can develop their full potential through socially oriented, educational and recreational programs, while increasing their ability to actively participate in society."

• Youth clubs:

Youth clubs are a social and recreational space intended for diverse young people to come together, both as volunteer group leaders and as participants in activities. Youth clubs organize and support activities that support the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of youth, while also enabling young people to experience success, leadership, joy, recognition of talents, and interethnic friendships.

These clubs provide young people with a space where they can get involved in different kinds of activities, such as music, theatre, sports, cultural activities, seminars, trainings and workshops. These activities foster learning, discussion, bonding, and exchange with youth from other cultures and ethnic groups. Through activities and exchanges within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Balkans, and other parts of Europe, youth capacity for leadership, advocacy, initiative, critical thinking, and inclusion expand, from a space that is largely integrated. 

Youth Club workshops can include a variety of topics, the primary objective being to bring youth together for integrated learning opportunities. Some ideas for workshop topics include recognition and prevention of violence in youth communities; improving communication through the tool of storytelling; inclusion and breaking of prejudice specific to Roma people; art/film classes, etc. The workshops can be conducted as a series, which brings together the same small group of youth on a monthly or weekly basis to develop deeper relationships with one another through a thorough exploration of the topic of their own choice.

Participants in youth clubs can be given tasks that are limited, measurable, and that expand or develop their skills and experiences. This can include co-facilitating a workshop, conducting outreach to new participants, and expanding social media presence. 

To make the workshops accessible to all, the non-formal education methodology can be used as a participatory and flexible approach. In line with this approach, the youth participants can and should be consulted in developing programming so that they feel valued and that their interests are heard.

All youth should participate on a voluntary basis.

When considering a venue, youth clubs need also to be “felt” like youth clubs, as this is a space designed specifically for young people. This means the decoration of premises with posters about other youth events and projects.

“Smart” youth work: youth work in the digital world

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, digital youth work was not that present in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The situation has changed once the Covid-19 measures forced youth workers and youth to stay home. Lot of organizations have managed to adopt and start to realize youth work activities online using the available communications tools. There is not much available data and some organizations like the PRONI Centre for Youth Development and Institute for Youth Development KULT have managed to implement certain activities and get data on youth perception during Covid-19 online. 

Research on youth work in Bosnia and Herzegovina is limited, but key reports exist. "Voices of Youth 2024: Insights from Bosnia and Herzegovina" (UNICEF, 2025) explores youth needs in education, employment, and mental health, supporting youth work for empowerment.

The "Youth Study Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018" (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2018, updated 2021) shows 46.7% youth unemployment, emphasizing the role of youth work in preventing radicalization.

"Research - Youth Work Combating Ethnic Distance - The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina" (PRONI, 2024) demonstrates the impact of youth work on reducing ethnic prejudices.

Evidence supporting policy development

Evidence supports policy development through research such as "Mapping of Youth Policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina" (RCC, 2023), recommending harmonization of frameworks for youth work. "Youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Aspirations, Frustrations and Futures" (UNFPA, 2025) provides evidence for strategic planning, focusing on emigration and radicalization.

According to "Guaranteeing a Trade Union Voice in the Youth Guarantee" (ETUC, 2024), the lack of a national strategy hinders evidence collection, but initiatives such as SDG Week 2025 (UN Bosnia and Herzegovina) use evidence to promote youth work.