Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
European Commission logo

YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Serbia

Serbia

1. Youth Policy Governance

1.5 Cross-sectoral approach with other ministries

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. Mechanisms and actors

Mechanisms and actors

The Ministry of Youth and Sport is in charge of establishing a cross-sectoral cooperation to ensure a continuously structured dialogue between the youth, associations performing youth activities, young researchers, national, province and local-level authorities and other youth policy actors.

In accordance with the Law on Youth, Act 16 (see Youth Wiki/Serbia 1.2 Law on Youth), the Government established the Youth Council in 2014 as the governmental advisory body responsible for cross-sectoral collaborative work. 

The work of the Council is defined by the Rules of Procedure. Council meetings should be held at least 2 times a year. The Council gathers members of different ministries, youth offices and national councils of national minorities, youth organizations, organizations for youth and their associations enabling cross-sectoral, horizontal, inter-ministerial and interdepartmental approach to youth policy-making across various policy-making fields, aiming at maximizing the potential of youth policy.

More precisely, members of the Council are representatives of: Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Ministry for Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, Ministry of Culture and Information, Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth, common representative of the national councils of national minorities, expert in youth policy, Sombor Youth Office, Novi Pazar Youth Office, as well as the representatives of youth organizations, organizations for youth and their associations such as: “Građanske inicijative”, “Centar za razvojnu politiku i saradnju”, “NAPOR”, ”Lovefest”, “Unija srednjoškolaca Srbije”, “Resurs centar Bor”, “Međunarodna organizacija studenata AISEC Srbije”, “Savez izviđača Srbije”.

Provincial Youth Council at the level of the Autonomous Province Vojvodina (APV), has the same role as aforementioned Council at national level.

Cross-sectoral approach is also achieved through development, implementation and monitoring of the National Youth Strategy and its Action Plans. This is defined in the Strategy Chapter 6: Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting mechanisms which specifies that line ministries and government organisations and institutions are in charge of achieving the planned results and overseeing the activities foreseen under the Strategy and its Action Plan. Also, at the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the autonomous province of Vojvodina and the local self-governments are obligated to submit at least one annual report on the implementation of the Action Plan to implement the Strategy in their respective territory. Nonetheless, in order for the monitoring to be successful, all other partners are planned to be involved as well - the line ministries, institutions and organisations and associations. In addition, the Strategy predicts a number of international organisations to be involved in the monitoring process.

Cross-sectorial cooperation is also established at the level of the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia (Fond za mlade talente Republike Srbije), which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth and Sport. The Fund annually provides scholarships and rewards for over 3,300 students. The President of the Fund is the Minister of Youth and Sport, while members of the Fund are the Rector of the University of Belgrade, the president of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as ministers of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Ministry of Finances and Ministry of Culture and Information.