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YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Serbia

Serbia

9. Youth and the World

9.2 Administration and governance

Last update: 28 November 2023
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  1. Governance
  2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

Within the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Sector for International Cooperation and European Integration among other things, carries out the tasks related to:

  • Coordination of international cooperation in the field of youth sector and sports;
  • Participation in the monitoring and implementation of international agreements and conventions, international bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes in the field of youth and sports;
  • Processes in the field of European integration of the Republic of Serbia;
  • Harmonization of domestic regulations in the field of youth policy and sports with the European Union;
  • Providing support to youth and sports organizations and associations in activities at the international level, especially in the processes related to IPA projects and other international funds;
  • The preparation of proposed platforms for international agreements;
  • Encouraging international cooperation within the scope of work of the ministry;
  • Preparation for the participation of representatives of the ministry in international gatherings; analysing the effects and potential of the ministry through international cooperation, etc.

The Sector has its own internal units:

  • Group for IPA projects and international funds;
  • Group for International Cooperation and European Integration

While the Group for IPA projects and international funds is dealing mainly with the planning and preparation of projects financed from EU pre-accession funds and other international funds in the field of youth and sports, the Group for International Cooperation and European Integration, among other responsibilities, is in charge of:

  • Participation in coordinating the activities of cooperation of youth and sports organizations with international youth and sports organizations and other international entities;
  • Compiling information, analysis and reports in the field of international youth and sports policy; cooperation with bodies and structures for youth and sports at the world and European level; preparation of proposed platforms for international negotiations;
  • Participation in the monitoring and implementation of international conventions in the field of youth policy and sports;
  • Drafting protocols on cooperation etc.

The main tasks of the Youth Council (see Glossary), established within the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as an advisory body of the Government is to stimulate and harmonize activities related to the development and implementation of youth policy proposing measures for its improvement, as well as for harmonizing and coordinating intersectoral coordination at the national level. It ensures that the needs of young people are reflected in the policies and enables youth participation in the development, implementation and monitoring of public policies.

The National Youth Council of Serbia - KOMS is the highest representative body of the youth population. It is an alliance of 108 youth associations and for young people, which serves as an advocacy platform for the improving the position of young people and acts as a link between young people, their member organizations and various decision-makers and providers of youth programmes and services. It implements four programme areas:

  • Local programme
  • National programme
  • International programme
  • Capacity building programme

The actions are directed through six thematic units:

  • Active participation of young people
  • Information and media literacy
  • Youth employability
  • Youth safety
  • Education
  • Social inclusion, equality and inclusive society

Since 2019, KOMS especially recognizes the topic of sustainable development as an additional programme unit.

The international programme area integrates KOMS into the European youth policy framework through engagement in the European Youth Forum and bilateral cooperation with umbrella organizations from other countries, with the aim of exchanging experiences and transferring elements of models that have shown good results. Also, by activities in the region through the Regional Office for Youth Cooperation (RYCO), KOMS takes an active part in connecting young people and developing platforms for cooperation between organizations in the Western Balkans. In addition, KOMS has developed a model proposal for the establishment of the "UN Young Delegates" programme, which provided quality and transparent mechanisms for the selection of young people from Serbia to participate in the UN events.

In accordance with the Law on Youth, the Local Youth Council is an advisory body of the Municipal Assembly/City Assembly that encourages, coordinates and monitors activities related to the development and implementation of youth policy at the local level and proposes measures for its improvement. Through this body, young people can actively participate in decision-making process.

Foundation Tempus acting as an Erasmus plus National Agency provides opportunity for young people to take part in the Youth Dialogue projects through the Erasmus+ Programme Key Action 3 to promote the active participation of young people in democratic life and stimulate debate between young people and policy makers relevant to young people.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

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

As mentioned above, the Youth Council as the governmental advisory body is responsible for cross-sectoral collaborative work. 

The Local Youth Council It is a body for networking and cross-sectoral cooperation with various institutions involved in the field of youth (schools, Ministry of Interior, National Employment Service, Health Centres, etc.)

The United Nations together with its partners work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nineteen UN agencies, funds and programmes work together through the implementation of the Development Partnership Framework 2016-2020 signed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the United Nations Country Team in Serbia.