How youth policy is funded

At national level, the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs administers the Budget allocated to administrative and staff costs for the Ministry and the Commission for Coordination of Youth Issues in BiH. The Commission’s annual budget managed by the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs is BAM 55.000, but it has not been used since 2016 due to the Commission’s inactivity.

The FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports has a total budget of BAM of 16.6 million for 2022. From this, BAM 40,000 per year (2022–2024) is specifically allocated to developing the Youth Strategy and youth-related action plans. The FBiH has allocated BAM 400,000 for its youth program in the 2023 Budget. In 2024, funding for the FBiH Youth Council increased significantly to BAM 50,000, an almost 80% rise compared to previous years. 

According to the provisional financial plan for 2023, the RS Government has planned to allocate BAM 266.389,000 for the implementation of the RS Youth Policy 2023-2027. This policy outlines four strategic goals with a total of 15 priorities and 44 measures, as well as three strategic projects.

There are no specific allocations for youth policy in the BD Budget. BD Youth Law and Youth Strategy mandate funding for required youth needs research, but exact funding figures are not disclosed.

What is funded

Youth issues are the responsibility of entities.  The relevant institutions responsible for youth issues fund the programs for young people and youth organizations.  FBiH and RS still maintain targeted funding through defined mechanisms, showing strong prioritization of youth strategy, cultural engagement, sport, and civic participation. BD’s youth-related expenditure is mandated but less transparent, relying on strategy implementation funding and external support. Public calls and ministry budget lines function as key enablers across all entities to support youth-oriented programmes and organizations.

The FBiH Ministry of Culture and sport has funded annual transfers of 30,000 BAM (2023) and 50,000 BAM (2024) to the FBiH Youth Council. The FBiH Budget 2023 has a budget line dedicated to youth called Transfer for Youth managed by the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sport, as support to youth organizations and planned amount is BAM 400,000.  40,000 BAM was allocated specifically for drafting and implementing the FBiH Youth Strategy (2022–2024).

The RS Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports has had the RS Youth Policy in place since 2006, and youth organizations and programs for young people have been financed through its implementation. The RS Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport provides support, funding, and co-funding for youth organizations’ projects through regular annual public calls. 

The Ministry finances projects in accordance with the “Regulation on conditions and criteria for funding programs and projects for the improvement of the position of young people and the improvement and development of youth organizing”. All funding opportunities are published in daily newspapers and on the Ministry’s website. Guidelines, application forms and supporting tender documents are also posted on the Ministry’s website. The guidelines contain information on the rules of competition, criteria for applicant's application, criteria related to the content of the projects, the amount of funds for the project implementation, timeframe, project eligibility criteria and projects scoring table. The Ministry makes evaluations and decisions on the projects’ acceptance and funding. After the decision is made, the Ministry signs contracts with organizations, controls the execution of projects and the expenditure of funds in accordance with the signed contracts. The Ministry also provides support through participation in project activities, ensures technical, advisory, and other support during the project implementation (participation in round tables, promotions, fora, conferences, etc.). 

The Ministry finances the following youth projects in 2022, as set out in the RS Budget 2022: 

• Support to projects of construction of facilities for children and youth, EUR 1, 030,000.

• Subsidies to youth housing, EUR 1, 150.000.

• Grants to public institutions and educational institutions for the implementation of youth projects, EUR 7,500.

• Grants for the implementation of programs defined by the RS Youth Policy and for projects aimed at improving and developing youth organizations, EUR 100,000.

• Grants for young people and youth organizations in rural areas, EUR 17,500.

• Grants for projects supporting international cooperation and youth mobility, EUR 17,500.

For the 2022–2026 period, the BD government has funded strategy-related activities, such as youth needs research and Action Programme development, though exact figures are not publicly disclosed.

BD implements public funding calls for youth initiatives and service area programmes (employment, civic engagement, health), supported by budget and public measures.

Financial accountability

Users of grant funds to support youth organizations in RS submit financial reports and project implementation reports to the RS Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports in accordance with the Regulation on Conditions and Criteria for Financing Programs and Projects for the Improvement of Youth Position and Youth Organizational Development from 2012. Users of youth grant funds in FBiH submit reports with complete documentation on the earmarked use of funds to the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports within the timeframe specified in the grant agreement in accordance with the Guidelines for Beneficiaries of Funds of the FBiH Ministry of Culture and Sports for Financial Implementation and Reporting dated May 13, 2022.

Use of EU funds

The EU provides funding for youth-related initiatives in BiH via several instruments:

• The EU has allocated significant financial resources for development and employment incentives, including the cross-border cooperation program BiH – Montenegro with EUR 8.4 million for the period 2014-2020, for joint projects in the employment, environmental protection and tourism sectors. 

• EU-employment initiatives via ESF+/EaSI supports the Youth Guarantee in BiH. Throughout 2013, the Youth Guarantee programme was initiated by the European Commission and was adopted by the European Council in the same year. With the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans published by the European Commission in October 2020, the Youth Guarantee programme became an obligation for Western Balkan economies aspiring to EU membership. BiH is ranked last in the region in terms of implementation of the Youth Guarantee programme. The Progress Report of the European Commission on BiH for 2023, highlights that limited progress has been made regarding the finalization and adoption of the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan.

• Regular capacity-building workshops and projects are supported under Erasmus+ Key Action 3 - Support to Policy Development and Cooperation. Key Action 3 provides grants for a wide variety of actions aimed at stimulating innovative policy development, policy dialogue and implementation, and the exchange of knowledge in the fields of education, training youth and sport.

Main Funded Initiatives 

• The European Union, through the IPA II BiH – Montenegro cross-border cooperation program, finances the “Your Job” project with grants of around EUR 360,000. The “Your Job” project aims to increase the employability of young people in the cross-border area of BiH and Montenegro, both through professional orientation, quality professional guidance, first work experience, and entrepreneurial practice, as well as through encouraging dialogue between young people, organizations civil society, companies and public institutions. The project is implemented by Caritas BiH, together with partners - Mozaik Foundation and Association for the Development of Competences “S.K.I.L.L.S.” from Sarajevo (BiH), as well as with Caritas of the Archdiocese of Bar and Business Start Center Bar (Montenegro).

• Youth Employment Fair in Mostar (May 2024) was IPA II–funded event to connect 350+ young job seekers with employers across the BiH–Montenegro region. The goal of this fair was to give young people an opportunity for education, employment and improvement of professional skills. The youth employment fair is part of a wider program of creating employment opportunities for young people in BiH and Montenegro, which the European Union finances through the IPA II BiH-Montenegro cross-border cooperation program.

• A forum entitled “Why is the Youth Guarantee Important in BiH?” was held at Europe House in Sarajevo in January 2025. The forum was organised as part of the project “Youth for EU Integration: Advocating the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan” and implemented by the Association PROI with support from the Foundation Centre for Democracy within the project “Regional Youth Dialogue for Europe,” funded by the European Union. The event gathered young leaders from across BiH, representatives of government institutions, international organizations, civil society, and academia.

As a country with the status of candidate, BiH currently has access to the following financing opportunities:

• European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

• EU Programs (former Community programs) and other instruments of the European Union, such as TAIEX, People to People (P2P), Local Administration Facility (LAF), Instrument for Stability (IFS).