For the purpose of defining priorities of public interest of the Program for 2020, the Ministry elaborated the Youth needs assessment (and will do so every year) before drafting the document for the following years. In line with the first law, the Government of Montenegro adopted the National Youth Strategy 2017-2021 in September 2016. This clearly positioned youth as a matter of interest to Montenegro and through a holistic approach envisaged intersectoral and interdepartmental co-operation of youth policy actors. Youth Strategy 2017-2021 is a document that positions young people not only as subjects of youth policy, but also as actors responsible for its planning, realisation, monitoring and evaluation.

Policy/legal framework 

The Law on Youth and the Youth National Strategy define youth work. Namely, “Youth work represents activities that are implemented in cooperation with youth and for the youth with a goal of helping them reach independence and transition to adulthood, educational, personal and social development, in line with their needs and abilities, which are based on the methods of non-formal education”. Even though the definition of youth worker is not given in the Law, its explanation is covered by the National Youth Strategy. Yet unfortunately, youth work is not a recognized profession in Montenegro, that is, there is no occupational standard.

Youth work is not yet recognized as a profession in Montenegro, both Law on Youth and Youth Strategy define youth work as activities that are organized with youth and for youth, and are based on non-formal education, in accordance with their needs and possibilities. Even though the definition of youth worker is not given in the Law, its explanation is covered by the National Youth Strategy 2017-2021:“Youth work is being implemented within extracurricular activities, within youth clubs, centres, institutions, schools, etc., and contributes to the development of young people into aware, responsible and active members of society, who contribute to the development of the community, show initiative and respect diversity. In close collaboration with the families and other professionals, youth work assists in efforts invested in decreasing youth unemployment, dropping out of school, social exclusion and structured leisure time. In order to fill the gap in the system of support to the development of young people and their transition to adulthood, it is highly important to recognize and professionalize youth work itself” (www.strategijazamlade.me).

The role of youth work is to provide support to young people during a specific development period of becoming autonomous and their transition to adulthood, as well as to assist their personal and social development, contribute to fulfilment of their potentials, so that young people’s voice could be heard, that they can make an influence and have their place within communities/society. Starting to live on their own has become extremely difficult for young people and they are quite often forced to start their families in multigenerational and quite frequently inadequate residential communities. Young people should be provided with direct support from institutions of the system through concrete and evenly available measures and incentives, which would enable them to start living independently and autonomously” (www.strategijazamlade.me).

Funding

From 2012 until 2017 youth work projects were only funded through the annual National Lottery Fund (centralised model of financing). However, by adopting the Law on Youth in July 2016, and a by-law “Rule book on the manner, procedure and criteria for the allocation of funds to youth organisations and control over the implementation of programs and projects” (adopted in April 2017), the Ministry of Sports/Directorate for Youth (now Ministry of Sports and Youth) was finally enabled to financially support the activities for youth which are being implemented by the NGOs in Montenegro. Within the Open Call in 2017, the Ministry of Sports/Directorate for Youth financed 36 youth projects to the total amount of 170 000€ for the implementation of the Youth Strategy (Action Plan 2017). A great number of projects were linked to youth work activities. This was great progress in financing youth work itself, comparing to previous years.

On the bright side, for the year 2018 and 2019 the Government of Montenegro/Ministry of Sports and Youth have allocated more than 700 000€ for youth projects, which is the tripled amount comparing to the year 2017. Through the open calls for the youth organizations/NGOs that implement youth policy approximately 150 projects for young people were supported, where over 20 000 young people were directly involved within the projects. Note: After adopting the Law on Youth (2019), the NGOs are being financed according to the Law on amendments to the Law on non-governmental organizations ("Official Gazette of Montenegro, No 037/17” from 14.06.2017).

Also, since 2014 the Directorate for Youth and Sports (now Ministry of Sports and Youth) has started opening youth services (youth clubs/centres). Acording to the Law on Youth “youth service is a space designed for the needs of youth with a purpose of implementing youth activities”. It is also a place where NGOs practise youth work-related activities and the place where young people can improve their social skills, non-formal education, leisure time, culture and get information about various topics. Hence, Ministry of Sports and Youth has done an intense work to provide tangible services to young people and therefore opened dozens of youth clubs in municipalities throughout Montenegro, as well as the Youth Centre in Podgorica. In the upcoming period, the intention is to open youth services in every municipality in Montenegro, but also to support the work of the existing ones. As stated by the Law on Youth, the Ministry or the municipality, within their competencies and abilities, shall ensure conditions for work of youth services, and provide the necessary space. Thus, the sustainability of youth services and better implementation of youth policy itself, are being ensured; which was not the case with the previous law.

Also, very important international funding sources for youth work are Erasmus+ and the European Youth Foundation, thus numerous NGOs in Montenegro use those sources to apply for the funds.

Cooperation

International sources for youth work activities are of high importance as well. From the beginning, the Ministry of Sports and Youth is nurturing a good cooperation with the international organizations. During the past years a number of joint projects with international partners have been implemented. Some of them are listed below:

In order to improve the position of young people, the Ministry of Sports and Youth in partnership with the United Nations System in Montenegro, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, as well as many other institutions, organisations and youth are implementing a joint UN programme for youth empowerment called “Kreaktivacija” (Creactivation). Within the framework of this programme, the Youth Innovation Laboratory “Kreaktivator” was established. The laboratory offers programmes through which young people are supported to create and implement solutions to the problems they face in everyday life. In this way, young people develop their skills in communication, leadership, team work, financial literacy, and through their experience of contributing to their communities, they have the opportunity to look at their potential and develop self-confidence and responsibility, which are certainly the skills they will use in seeking employment, but also in work itself. Laboratory programmes are based on modern work methods such as human centred design/design thinking. More information at: www.kreaktivator.me.

Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) is an independently functioning institutional mechanism, founded by the Western Balkans 6 participants (WB 6): Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, aiming to promote the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between the youth in the region through youth exchange programs. Since the establishment of RYCO in 2016, there have been three public calls for proposals aimed at contributing to the reconciliation process in the Western Balkans region. Each year, different priority areas are funded, from intercultural dialogue, active participation, social inclusion, regional cooperation, mobility, exchanges, etc. So far, over 2 million € have been allocated for the projects implemented by the civil society organizations and high schools.

Furthermore, the partner in many activities in the field of youth policy and creating better conditions for young people in Montenegro has been the OSCE Mission to Montenegro. It has been a partner in the projects in the field of human rights protection, drafting legislation, strategic planning, local governments’ capacity building, strengthening cooperation within the region of Western Balkans, encouraging youth mobility, strengthening activism and youth participation in the decision-making process, and nonetheless youth work.