1.4 Youth policy decision-making
Structure of decision-making
The youth policy in Montenegro is implemented by the Government of Montenegro.
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otherministries competent for areas of relevance to young people;
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municipalities,
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the Capital and the Old Royal Capital;
The Montenegrin National Youth Council, called Youth Network of Montenegro (hereinafter Youth Network), was registered on 16 November 2020, pursuant to Article 20 of the Law on Youth, as an independent, representative (umbrella) Association of non-governmental organizations implementing youth policy in Montenegro. The representativeness of the Youth Network is determined by the Directorate for Sports and Youth for a period of one year by issuing a certificate of representativeness. Consultations and drafting of the organization’s first four-year Strategic plan were realized in June 2020 within the financial support of the Regional Co-operation Council through the Western Balkans Youth Lab programme. The four-year Strategy will also include a Communication Strategy of the Youth Network. The Network recently hired a Secretary General and established the General Secretariat which will, in accordance with the Statute of the organization, be responsible for implementing activities defined by the Strategic Plan as well as other activities in accordance with the needs of the Youth Network. The application of the Youth Network for membership of the European Youth Forum should be officially submitted in the following period.
The Council for Youth (heir of the previous NYSC) was stablished in order to encourage the development of youth policy, as an expert and advisory body, in accordance with Article 16 of the Law on Youth. The competencies of the Council for Youth will be to give proposals for improvement of youth policy, give suggestions in the procedure of the Strategy implementation; take part in the revision of the law on youth; monitor the implementation of the Strategy and suggest measures for its improvement; give opinion on other matters of importance for youth etc. Although there was an obligation under the Law on Youth to form a Youth Council, it was not formed.
Main themes
The national agency for youth
There is no National agency for youth. The work of the agency is performed by the National Erasmus+ Office (NEO).
The National Erasmus+ Office (NEO) provides assistance to national authorities, higher education institutions, secondary vocational education institutions, youth and sports organizations and other relevant stakeholders with implementation of the Erasmus+ activities. Its mission is to improve the visibility, relevance, effectiveness, and impact of Erasmus+ programme and contribute to its promotion and dissemination in Montenegro.
National Erasmus+ Office is a focal point in the country, alongside the EU Delegation and complementarily with it, for all actors, potential applicants, beneficiaries and stakeholders at large with regards the EACEA and the European Commission’s activities and programmes in the area of higher education, secondary vocational education, youth and sports.
Policy monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy for Youth in Montenegro is very important in order to ensure the achievement of the set goals and measures within the strategy. The Strategy for Youth states that monitoring and evaluation will be carried out at several levels: by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Council for Youth and other relevant institutions.
Monitoring and evaluation were carried out through various methods and tools, including regular annual reports collected from Government departments and local self-governments, research, evaluation of youth policies and programs, as well as using other indicators that will measure progress in the implementation of the Strategy. The entire report on the implementation of the Youth Strategy should be adopted before a new Strategy defining the field of youth is adopted.