Young people’s participation in policy making related to global issues is mainly related to UN Sustainable Development Goals and climate change. It is implemented through periodic consultations with young people and CSOs by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and to some extent through consultations related to general youth policy and the measures that it sets. 

Main concept
 

The strategic framework which tackles a range of global issues consists of National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-2030, National Strategy Climate Change Strategy by 2030, National Plan of Adaptation to Climate Change 2021-2023. The draft of National Youth Strategy 2023-2027 considers these strategies, and to some extent envisages the ways in which it can contribute to their realization by empowering young people to understand and engage more in these areas (for example, contribute to the realization of a long-term climate-neutral vision for Montenegro.)  
 

Global education is periodically promoted through the work of the multisectoral network for global education composed of Parliament of Montenegro, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sports and Youth, Bureau for Education, Center for Vocational Education, and NGOs: Forum MNE, Center for Training and Education and High School Students Union of Montenegro.
 

Youth interest in global issues
 

Youth consultations on climate change implemented by UNDP Montenegro  in 2021, have shown that climate change, its consequences, and the ways to slow it down are not discussed sufficiently in Montenegro. Key conclusions deriving from the consultations, are that that “awareness of climate change is not at a high level precisely because of the fact that there are no serious consequences in Montenegro.” Air pollution is perceived as the biggest challenge in Montenegro, without neglecting the significance of other areas. Young people see the importance of stigmatization of “behaviours that contribute to the acceleration of climate change, while the current situation in practice is exactly the opposite.” Young people consider that young people and all the other generation need to be educated more through formal, non-formal, and informal education. Moreover, they perceive that the institutions should have a more proactive role in this process and undertake measures which would lead to better understanding of young people’s views, higher level of information and engagement of young people (e.g. through launching campaigns for and with young people) and cooperation with them on creation of positive changes. 
 

Sustainable Development 
 

National Strategy for Sustainable Development (NSSD) foresees measures for engagement of NGOs and non-formal groups of citizens and political decision-making processes on national and local levels within SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The measures envisage development of institutional framework for their engagement, support to young people and other groups in terms of provision of knowledge, skills, and adaptation of strategic and other documents to their needs for participation in decision making, their participation in monitoring of implementation of public policies in the area of education, employment, environmental protection, reduction of poverty and increase of prosperity. Moreover, enhancing of civic activism is foreseen through support to voluntarism and improvement of the existing legal framework. Civic activism and teaching of young generation of values of a participatory society is foreseen to be strengthened through educational system. However, it was not possible to assess to which extent are these measures implemented. Draft of Youth Strategy 2023-2027 is aligned with the measures, activities and indicators set in NSSD .