Youth volunteering in Montenegro faces a series of structural, legal, and societal challenges that limit its full development and transformative potential. Although the Youth Strategy 2023–2027 formally recognises volunteering as a key instrument for fostering solidarity, empathy, and social cohesion, its implementation remains fragmented and insufficiently coordinated in practice.

One of the most persistent barriers lies in the outdated legislative framework, which primarily treats volunteering as a form of unpaid labour rather than a civic value or a tool for learning and development. The current law imposes financial and administrative burdens on organisers - especially regarding insurance and cost reimbursements—which discourages many youth organisations and public institutions from initiating volunteer programmes.

Moreover, the absence of a centralised volunteering database and a lack of cross-sectoral coordination - particularly between government ministries, the education sector, and civil society—continue to obstruct systemic promotion and recognition of youth volunteering at the national level. Volunteering remains undervalued by the public and underutilised by institutions, particularly in rural and remote areas where access to youth programmes is limited.

Although platforms such as volontiraj.me and school-based volunteer clubs exist, many young people are either unaware of these opportunities or fail to clearly perceive the benefits of volunteering. Additional barriers include lowdigital integration, limited motivation among educators to embed volunteering into school curricula, and the lack of sustained national awareness campaigns.

These challenges underscore the urgent need for a more integrated, youth-centred approach to volunteering policy in Montenegro—one that modernises legal structures, strengthens institutional support, and promotes volunteering as a visible, accessible, and valued pathway to youth. 

The Law on Voluntary Work has been widely criticised for its conceptual and structural limitations. Multiple reports have concluded that the law treats volunteering as a specific form of labour-law relationship, rather than as a voluntary, civic initiative of individuals (Balkan Civil Society Development Network, 2019 ; European Commission, 2019).

Since its adoption in 2010, numerous initiatives have emerged advocating for changes and amendments to the law, including the proposal of entirely new legislation. The Strategy for the Development of NGOs in Montenegro (2014–2016) recognised that the existing law, “contrary to its purpose, instead of contributing to the development of a culture of volunteering, has become a major obstacle to its advancement” (p. 18).

Similar concerns were echoed in the Youth Strategy 2017–2021 and the Strategy for Improving the Enabling Environment for CSOs 2018–2020, both of which advocated for a new legal framework aligned with international best practices and national youth priorities.

In response to these criticisms, a Draft Law on Volunteering was prepared in 2019. This draft introduced several key improvements:

• A clearer definition of volunteering, eliminating the term “voluntary work”
• Enabling private companies (under defined conditions) to engage in corporate volunteering as part of their CSR initiatives
• Exempting organisers from signing a contract for volunteering engagements lasting less than 10 hours per week
• Prohibiting the use of volunteering contracts as a substitute for vocational training or work experience
• Replacing the outdated volunteer booklets with certificates issued by organisers, including descriptions of acquired skills and their levels

A public debate on the draft was held from April to June 2019. Stakeholder consultations were conducted, and written feedback was collected. Following this process, the Government of Montenegro adopted the draft in November 2019 and submitted it to Parliament. However, as of 2025, the law has still not been formally adopted. In July 2021, the draft and the 2019 consultation report were once again discussed by the Government, but no further legislative progress has been made.

In 2025, the lack of a modern and inclusive legal framework for volunteering continues to undermine efforts to promote active youth citizenship in Montenegro. The country urgently needs:

• Adoption of the new Law on Volunteering
• Clear separation between volunteering, employment, and training
• Creation of a centralised, digital volunteering database
• Stronger cross-sectoral cooperation among state bodies, schools, and civil society
• National campaigns to raise public awareness about the value of volunteering

Only through such systemic changes can volunteering be recognised as a legitimate and transformative component of youth development, social inclusion, and democratic participation.

Current reforms

When it comes to youth volunteering, the key strategic document currently guiding this area in Montenegro is the Youth Strategy 2023 - 2027, which explicitly recognises volunteering as a vital mechanism for fostering solidarity, social responsibility, and active citizenship among young people. However, in order to effectively operationalise the strategic objectives outlined in this document, it is imperative that a new Law on Volunteering be adopted in the upcoming period. The existing legislative framework is not adequately equipped to address the realities of contemporary youth engagement, nor to support the diverse and evolving forms of volunteering that young people increasingly see as meaningful and developmentally relevant.

Without a modern and precisely defined legal framework, youth volunteering remains inconsistently supported and institutionally fragile - particularly in areas such as the recognition of acquired skills, the development of competencies, and the assurance of quality in volunteer engagement. The current legal ambiguity further discourages both organisers and potential volunteers, thereby limiting the potential of volunteering to serve as a vehicle for inclusion, non-formal learning, and youth employability.

In this context, modernising the legal framework should not be seen merely as a technical or administrative task, but rather as a strategic investment in democratic development and the long-term sustainability of youth policy. The adoption of a new Law on Volunteering must be accompanied by enhanced institutional coordination, digitalisation of volunteer records, and stronger nationwide promotion of volunteering. Only through a comprehensive and systemic approach can volunteering be established as an integral part of youth development and one of the foundational pillars of active citizenship in Montenegro.