Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a national youth strategy, but each entity and Brčko District have their own youth policies.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Government, in a session held in October 2023, upon the proposal of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sports, adopted a Decision initiating the process of drafting the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Youth Policy until 2027. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sports coordinates and leads the process of drafting the Youth Policy, respecting the principles of horizontal and vertical coordination, with a deadline for its completion set at six months from the date of entry into force of this decision.

On April 3, 2024 the Strategic Platform of the Youth Strategy until 2027, as adopted by the Working Group, was submitted to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sports, which has launched a public consultation process that lasted until May 3, 2024.

At its 47^th regular session, held on 13 February 2025 in Mostar, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Government accepted the Proposal of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Youth Strategy 2025-2034 prepared by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sports. The proposal will be submitted to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Parliament for adoption.

The Draft Youth Strategy 2025–2034 is a sectoral policy for Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that:

• Defines key problems and needs of youth.
• Outlines strategic directions, goals, and measures for implementation.
• Covers multiple priority areas such as employment and entrepreneurship, youth education and science, social care, youth health and safety, culture, sports, environment, youth activism, including participation, volunteering, and mobility.
• Emphasizes youth participation and equal opportunities.
• Developed via interdepartmental working groups, expert consultancy, and youth-government dialogue.

The Republika Srpska National Assembly adopted the fourth Republika Srpska Youth Policy 2023-2027 in January 2023.

The Republika Srpska Youth Policy 2023-2027 focuses on four strategic priorities:

• Improve opportunities and interests of youth for a better life (sustainable stay and return) in Republika Srpska.
• Encourage youth initiative and responsible action in the community.
• Promote the development of healthy lifestyles among youth and responsible environmental attitudes.
• Promote excellence and serve as examples for youth.

Key strategic projects include:

• Establishment of a resource youth center.
• Support program for young entrepreneurs "Startup Srpska“.
• Establishment of the first science and technology park in Republika Srpska.

The process of creating the document is technically supported by the EU4CS project (EU for Civil Society), and the "General Mobilization" program for youth retention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded by the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Brčko District Assembly, in a session held in February 2023, adopted the Brčko District Youth Strategy 2022-2026. The basic strategic objectives of the Brčko District Youth Strategy are:

1. Empowered employment support system, competitive economy of the Brčko District, and improved education system serve as a platform through which Brčko District responds to the needs of youth, creating concrete opportunities for youth in the labor market in Brčko District.
2. Enhanced systems and services to support youth in the field of social care, information, and health create a better living environment for the youth Brčko District.
3. Brčko District recognizes youth as active actors who actively contribute to the development and implementation of youth policies and programs and EU integration.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the youth strategy

The Youth Policy issues at national level are under the jurisdiction of the Commission for Coordination of Youth Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Commission is a permanent and highest advisory body to the established structures for coordination of the youth sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its scope of work and responsibilities do not infringe upon the constitutional and legal competences of the relevant authorities at all levels of decision-making. It is responsible for coordinating the activities of all relevant youth stakeholders and the promotion and protection of the roles and positions of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of improving their living conditions, as well as for the international representation of youth-related issues concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The Commission has not been active since 2016 as the new Decision on the establishment of the Commission for Coordination of Youth Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to be adopted. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Civil Affairs has made efforts since 2016 to obtain approvals of responsible entity ministries, the Brčko District Government and three umbrella youth councils (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina youth councils) for the new Draft Decision. Youth organizations and civic actors continue advocating for its activation, emphasizing its potential to unify youth policy at the national level.

The competencies at the entity level in the field of youth are within the following institutions:

Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports of Republika Srpska, Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Department of Professional and Administrative Affairs of the Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Civil Affairs has competence over the work of the Commission for Coordination of Youth Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With the 2009 Decision, the Commission for Coordination of Youth Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina became a standing body within the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This decision was taken to establish the conditions for a more effective and efficient performance of the Commission.

In Republika Srpska, the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport is the government authority responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the Republika Srpska Youth Policy.  

The Republika Srpska Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports, within its legal competence, prepares and submits to the National Assembly or the Republika Srpska Government, drafts, legal and sub-legal acts as well as other acts of interest for Republika Srpska. The Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport implements the youth related activities through the Youth Department. The Youth ​​​​Department performs tasks relating to the following: determination of the National Action Plan and Youth Policy and its implementation; creation of conditions to address youth issues such as youth employment, improvement of their social status, inclusion into society; implementation of youth projects; encouraging active participation of the youth in the society; establishment of youth centers; cooperation with the youth organizations; international cooperation in the domain of organization and activity of the youth.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sport carries out the administrative, expertise and other tasks as laid down by the legislation related to the competencies of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the following areas:

• Researching scientific activity in the field of protection and use of cultural-historic heritage, museums, archives, libraries, publishing, theatre, music, fine arts, film and show business activities. 
• Work of citizens’ organizations and associations in the field of arts, culture, sport, and youth. 
• Improvement of sport and physical culture. 
• Definition of development strategies in culture, sport, and youth, as well as other tasks laid down by the legislation governing this field.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Culture and Sport implements youth related activities through its Youth Department. The Youth Department performs the following tasks related to overall institutional mechanisms of the government's services for young people:

• Cooperation and coordination tasks with the youth sector and youth associations to study the needs and problems of young people, 
• Defining and proposing a youth policy, 
• establishing and maintaining comprehensive youth database in cooperation with other institutions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
• Conducting activities related to informing young people and strengthening youth involvement in decision-making processes, 
• Defining, establishing and implementing a program of action for youth in the areas of competence of the Ministry, 
• Planning special funds in the budget to execute tasks arising from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Youth Law, 
• Monitoring the implementation of existing programs in the field of youth at the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina level, 
• Coordination of international cooperation related to youth, 
• Definition of procedures and training certification of youth, 
• Developing analyses, reports, information, reports, studies, programs, plans, estimates and other technical, information, planning, documentation and analytical materials in the field of youth, 
• Professional processing the system solutions of importance to young people, and 
• Performing other tasks in order to protect the interests of young people.

Revision/updates

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Youth Policy still awaits adoption and youth policies of Republika Srpska and Brčko District have been recently adopted for a period of four years. Upon the expiry of this period, there will be a new revision of the policies that will be adopted for the next four-year period.

The Youth Strategy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet been formally adopted, but it has reached an advanced stage of the policy development process. On 13 February 2025, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Draft Youth Strategy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2025–2034, following a long-term drafting process. The draft was subsequently submitted to the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for consideration and adoption.

The proposed strategy covers several priority areas, including employment, education, health, and youth activism, and was developed through a participatory process that actively involved young people. During 2024, public consultations were conducted as part of the strategy development process.

In addition, in 2025, a Regulation on the establishment of the Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted, representing an institutional strengthening of the strategic framework for youth policy development and cooperation with youth representatives.