Legal/policy framework for the functioning and development of youth organisations

There is currently no unified national policy framework for youth organisations. While entities and BD have varying legal recognition, coordination at the state level remains absent. The FBiH Youth Law (Article 4) defines "youth work" as planned, purposeful support through voluntary participation. The RS Law on Youth Organisation describes youth work (Article 2 of the Youth Law) as non-formal activity organized with and for youth to support their development. The BD Youth Law defines both youth work and "youth workers", which is the only formal recognition of the role in BiH. Youth work is defined as “the part of youth activities organized with and for youth, which takes place within the free time of young people and is performed in order to improve conditions for personal and social development of young people and the general social benefits in accordance with their needs, opportunities, and with their voluntary participation.” 

The FBiH Youth Law was adopted in 2010. This Law regulates issues related to youth engagement, position and activities in FBiH. 

BD adopted the Youth Law in 2017 and Volunteering Law in 2018 with similar regulations to those in FBiH and RS. The BD Government adopted the BD Youth Policy 2022-2026 at its 85th session held on January 11, 2023. 

Public financial support

The BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs, as the responsible authority at the national level, as well as the BiH Council of Ministers, have not allocated any funds to support youth organisations in BiH in the last five years. The RS Government allocated EUR 2.335,000 for its different programs, projects and measures in its 2016 budget. The FBiH Government allocated EUR 204,000 for their youth program in its 2016 budget. The BD Government secured about EUR 100,000 funds to support youth initiatives in 2016. 

In RS, a network of youth centres, recognized by law, receives support directly from the entity's Ministry to organize activities, though financial backing remains limited.

Youth NGOs often rely on external grants and project-based funding. For instance, the CHANGE program, led by the Institute for Youth Development KULT and supported by the Swedish Embassy, awarded grants totalling BAM 265,000 to several youth organisations, including Youth Press Association in BiH, Association Progressive Development of Organizations and Individuals PROI, Association for Education and Development “Dignitet” and Association of Secondary School Students in BiH.
When it comes to EU/international support, initiatives like the Youth Guarantee involve youth organisations as partners in implementation. Such programmes bring in EU support and international collaboration (e.g., with PROI and youth councils) across policy implementation and youth empowerment actions. BiH signed the Agreement on Establishing the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) on July 4, 2016, at the Summit of Prime Ministers of the Western Balkans in Paris. BiH’s contribution to the RYCO’s Budget is EUR 154,000.00 for the Agreement implementation. RYCO launches annual Open Calls for CSOs, with the aim to support the civil society in the Western Balkans to foster reconciliation, peacebuilding, regional cooperation, and intercultural learning, by providing young people with opportunities that create space for dialogue, mutual learning, and increased understanding across the region. So far, 110 projects have been supported with 240 CSOs and 115 schools. The Fifth Open Call officially named "RYCOnnecting Youth" is currently in the implementation stage. 

Initiatives to increase the diversity of participants

There are no specific national or large-scale initiatives aiming to increase the diversity of young people participating in youth organisations in BiH.

Events like “Opportunities for All Young People: Success through Diversity”, organized by the Education Builds BiH – Jovan Divjak association with the support from Sarajevo Canton authorities, include fairs and workshops tailored to empower youth from marginalized groups with sign language interpretation and inclusive engagement.

Efforts by KULT and PRONI organisations include advocating for professional recognition of youth workers, curriculum development, and entity-level youth strategies. These also include conventions uniting organisations across entities to define common standards and promote inclusive participation.