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Youth Wiki

Republic of North Macedonia

5. Participation

5.5 National strategy to increase youth participation

Last update: 2 March 2026
On this page
  1. Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation
  2. Scope and contents
  3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy
  4. Monitoring and evaluation
  5. Revisions/Updates
On this page
  1. Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation
  2. Scope and contents
  3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy
  4. Monitoring and evaluation
  5. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation

The Republic of North Macedonia has established a strategic and legislative framework aimed at strengthening the political and civil participation of young people.

The National Youth Strategy 2016–2025 previously included Youth Participation as one of its thematic priorities. However, following the adoption of the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies (January 2020), a new strategy was required in order to align youth policy with the newly established legal framework. Consequently, the 2016–2025 Strategy was replaced.

In accordance with Article 9 of the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies (2020), the Government is obliged to adopt a National Youth Strategy as a medium-term strategic document defining goals and priorities for youth policy development, as well as the organisational, financial and administrative measures necessary for its implementation.

Although the Law foreseen adoption of a new strategy within 18 months of its entry into force, the drafting process began in October 2022. After a consultative process coordinated by the former Agency for Youth and Sport, involving youth organisations and relevant stakeholders, the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 was adopted by the Government in 2023 and is currently in force.

The Strategy identifies Youth Participation as one of its eight thematic areas and reaffirms the state’s commitment to strengthening young people’s involvement in political and civic life.

Scope and contents

The National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 covers eight thematic areas:

  • Youth participation
  • Youth information
  • Youth work
  • Education
  • Culture
  • Health
  • Entrepreneurship and pre-employment support
  • Safety and protection from violence
     

The Strategy applies to young people aged 15–29 and places particular emphasis on young people with fewer opportunities, including unemployed youth, NEETs, young people with low educational attainment, and those facing geographic or socio-economic barriers.

Its vision states that young people are key drivers of positive societal change and should be able to realise their rights and potential fully.

The Strategy defines five strategic goals, including:

  1. Strengthening youth influence in decision-making processes at local and national levels;
  2. Increasing youth participation in shaping educational policies;
  3. Enhancing youth engagement in environmental policy development;
  4. Strengthening youth activism in digital spaces;
  5. Supporting the sustainability of the youth sector and youth organisations.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

The implementation of the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 is coordinated by the Ministry for Social Policy, Demography and Youth, which assumed responsibilities previously held by the Agency for Youth and Sport following the 2024 institutional restructuring.

According to the Law, the Strategy is to be implemented through action plans covering defined implementation periods. The Action Framework foresees two action plans:

The development of action plans must include clearly defined activities, responsible institutions and financial projections.

While the second action plan (2025–2027) has reportedly been developed through a consultative process involving youth organisations and experts, as of February 2026 there is no publicly available information confirming its formal adoption or publication

The Strategy is financed through the state budget.

Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring of the National Youth Strategy is regulated by the Law on Youth Participation and Youth Policies.

According to the Law, the Government is required to prepare an annual report on the implementation of the Strategy and its action plans, which must be submitted to the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia for review by 30 June of the following year.

The Ministry for Social Policy, Demography and Youth acts as the central coordinating body and monitors progress through institutional mechanisms and cooperation with local-level structures.

The Law further provides that Parliament should organise thematic discussions on youth policies as part of its oversight function.

However, based on publicly available information as of February 2026:

  • There is limited publicly accessible reporting on the implementation progress of the Strategy;

  • A monitoring process of the Action Plan 2023-2025 has reportedly been conducted, but the corresponding monitoring report is not publicly available;

  • It is not evident whether parliamentary thematic discussions on youth policy have been systematically organised;

  • The practical implementation of several planned measures remains unclear.

Although the monitoring framework is clearly defined in the legislation, available evidence suggests that implementation and public reporting mechanisms remain underdeveloped.

Revisions/Updates

As of February 2026, no formal revisions have been made to the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027. The Strategy remains in force in its originally adopted form.