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Youth Wiki

Serbia

1. Youth Policy Governance

1.8 Cross-border cooperation

Last update: 20 February 2026

In order to establish and promote international cooperation in the field of youth policy, the Ministry responsible for youth establishes contacts with the relevant institutions from different countries and usually also determines the signing of the agreement on cooperation in the field of youth and sports. That way the cooperation between the two countries is officially defined, which should stimulate conducting joint activities, as well as help to find funds from different available sources (e.g. EU funds) for the implementation of agreed projects.

The role of these agreements is to enable student exchange, encourage mobility of young people, as well as their participation in conferences and seminars, the implementation of joint projects, etc. The agreements also contribute to more intensive exchange of relevant information, materials and publications of importance, etc.

On this page

  1. Cooperation with European countries
  2. International cooperation

Cooperation with European countries

Number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on youth affairs have been singed with EU and EU-candidate countries. Some of them are:

  • Memorandum of Cooperation and Agreement on Youth Volunteering in Interreg Programs, 2024
  • Turkey (2013), 
  • Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2011), the Slovak Republic (2012), 
  • Portugal (2012), 
  • MoUs with Greece (2011),
  • the Joint Declaration on Cooperation with the Kingdom of The Netherlands (2009).

International cooperation

The Ministry of Tourism and Youth collaborates with different international organisations, usually through the implementation of projects related to the youth and youth policy. 

Some of the previous collaborative projects (2015-2019), have been/are being implemented with:

  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit- GIZ, 
  • Swiss Development Cooperation - SDC, 
  • United Nations Development Programme - UNDP, 
  • United Nations Population Fund - UNFPA, 
  • United Nations Women- UN Women, 
  • United Nations Children’s Fund - UNICEF, 
  • European Union - EU.

The Ministry and GIZ cooperated in the project “Youth Employment Promotion” that aimed to support young people Serbia aged 15 to 35 years in order to improve their position on the labour market. The project supported organizations, hubs and centres that provide an incentive environment for young people to acquire entrepreneurial skills and start their own business.

UNDP and the Ministry implemented the project Capacity Development for Improved Implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) (Jačanje kapaciteta za unapređeno sprovođenje međunarodnih sporazuma iz oblasti zaštite životne sredine). The project aimed to improve implementation of MEAs in Serbia by strengthening consultative processes and integrating MEA provisions into high-priority policies and programmes at national and municipal levels. Additionally, it worked on development of capacity in key target groups including youth and university and mid-career students. 

UNFPA, UNDP, UN WOMEN and UNICEF worked on the project Integrated Response to Violence against Women and Girls in Serbia aiming to change normative framework, institutional practices and behaviours pertaining to violence against women and girls at state, community and individual levels. The overall objective of the project was further development of social and institutional environment that will contribute to zero tolerance and eradication of violence against women in Serbia.

One of the active initiatives is collaboration with SDC is through the programme From Education to Employment (E2E) (“Znanjem do posla”). The programme represents a twelwe-year partnership project of two governments – Switzerland’s and Serbian – designed to create preconditions for a faster recruitment and youth employment. The program aims to improve the youth job prospects in Serbian labour market by changing the policy framework and developing skills and knowledge of young people that employers are looking for.

Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on youth affairs have also been singed with different non-EU countries, such as:

  • Republic of Srpska (2010), 
  • Ukraine (2011), 
  • Azerbaijan (2011), and 
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012).

International cooperation among Western Balkan countries is also institutionalised through the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO),  an independently functioning mechanism, aiming to promote the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between the youth in the region through youth exchange programmes.