Programme Youth Rules (Mladi su zakon) is a national youth volunteering programme established in 2010 by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It aimed to encourage young people to join, actively participate and conduct small initiatives that can change and improve their quality of life in the local context. Through these activities, young people can organize spaces for leisure time in local communities, conduct environmental campaigns and activities, actions aimed at fostering humanity and solidarity, tolerance, security, intergenerational cooperation and entrepreneurship of young people.  

Nowadays, the programme includes several different actions under various names to support different forms pf volunteering. It supports the establishment of several national and international volunteering camps annually and provides mentoring and financial support for local volunteer actions through programme titled Šta nam teško (which could be translated as “We’ve got this”). The programme is coordinated by Young Researchers of Serbia (Mladi istraživači Srbije) with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Youth. Project partners include members of an informal network supporting youth activism: Pokret gorana Vojvodine, Tim 42, GM Optimist, and CEGRAD. Volunteer camps are also supported by more than 10 local partners and over 40 organizations worldwide through the alliance for volunteer exchange.  

In addition, in the territory of Vojvodina, the northern part of Serbia, Volonterski centar Vojvodine (Volunteer Centre of Vojvodina) operates as a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting volunteering and addressing community challenges through civic engagement. The organization runs volunteer, educational, and social programs, including international volunteer camps, youth exchanges, and non-formal education activities.

Official statistics on the level of annual participation of young people in volunteering in the Republic of Serbia is not available. The Ministry in charge for Youth conducts annual Survey on Position and Needs of Youth in the Republic of Serbia (Istraživanje položaja i potreba mladih u Republici Srbiji) covering some questions regarding youth volunteering.  

Survey results from 2025 show that two-thirds of young people (66%) have not participated in volunteering activities so far, with the highest participation recorded among respondents from Belgrade. However, compared to previous years, this share has decreased and more young people reported volunteering within the past year. 

Among those who volunteered, 85% said they had support from their families. After volunteering, 46% of young people received a written certificate, which also represents an increase compared to previous years.

The support to volunteers is specified in the Law on Volunteering (Zakon o volontiranju). Volunteering, within the meaning of this law, is the organized voluntary provision of services or performance of activities of general interest, for the common good or for the benefit of another person, without the payment of monetary compensation or the expectation of any other material gain. Organizations or institutions engaging volunteers must provide the following benefits, which are not considered financial compensation as mentioned above: 

The Law on Volunteering defines the responsibilities of both the Ministry in charge of labour and the organizers of volunteering programmes and projects. The Ministry is responsible for keeping records of volunteering organizers and prescribing the content of applications submitted by them. Organizers of volunteering are obliged to register any voluntary activity that is conducted for the first time. 

The ministry responsible for youth is also involved in monitoring youth volunteering activities. It conducts annual surveys on the position and needs of young people, together with monitoring the implementation of the Youth Strategy (reports are available in the relevant section of the Ministry’s website). These surveys and reports are not focused exclusively on youth volunteering activities, but they include relevant questions that support monitoring and policy development. 

The Law on Volunteering also specifies that volunteering organizers are obliged to provide volunteers, upon request, with a written confirmation of their volunteer work. This confirmation includes: