9.2 Administration and governance
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Within the Ministry of Tourism and Youth, activities related to international cooperation in the field of youth are jointly conducted by the Sector for Youth and the Sector for International Cooperation and European Integration, being in charge for international cooperation in both field of tourism and youth. Performed activities related to the youth field mainly refer to:
- analyzing, proposing and undertaking measures and activities aimed at improving the cooperation of the Republic of Serbia with other countries and concluding agreements on cooperation in the field of tourism and youth;
- monitoring of international regulations, agreements and recommendations and improvement of regulations in the field of international cooperation;
- coordination and monitoring of work within the negotiations on EU accession;
- professional and administrative affairs and coordination of the participation of representatives of the Ministry in the work of the body for the accession process of the Republic of Serbia to the European Union;
- coordination of the preparation of the Ministry's attachments for the purposes of creating action plans and reports on the implementation of activities in the process of European integration;
- coordination of participation in the development and monitoring of the implementation of strategic projects under the competence of the Ministry;
- participation in the work of groups for the preparation of strategic and program documents for the identification and formulation of projects for the use of funds from EU funds and other international development assistance;
- coordination of development planning and management of priority projects in the field of tourism and youth, as well as other jobs in this field.
The Sector for International Cooperation and European Integration of the Ministry of Youth has its own internal units:
- Group for International Cooperation;
- Group for EU Integrations and Management of the European Projects.
Strenghtening international cooperation in the youth field has been deeply incorporated into the Youth Strategy in the Republic of Serbia for the period from 2023 to 2030 in various youth policy aspects. Harmonisation of youth work with international standards (Measure 1.6) assumes realisation of several measures and activities aimed at strengthening quality of the youth work in Serbia which also includes organisation of the international and regional events on youth and youth work. Under the Measure 3.3 it is envisaged improvement of the international cooperation, exchange of experiences and practices of young people and other youth policy actors and participation in the development, monitoring and evaluation of international documents of youth policy. Consulting the best international practices and reports is also expected to contribute to realisation of other youth policy objectives including volunteering and activism, Following the prestigious award „European Capital of Culture for 2022“ won by the city of Novi Sad, a series of activities on international youth exchange and networking are expected in the following years. Measure 4.6 Support for youth mobility programmes refers to strengthening practices of youth exchange, professional development and building capacities of youth organisations through participation in regional and international cooperation programmes.
The main tasks of the Youth Council (see Glossary), established within the Ministry of Tourism and Youth, 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 an alliance of 109 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. . 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 Councils are advisory bodies of the Municipal Assemblies/City Assemblies that encourage, coordinate and monitor 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+ 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.
The Ministry of Tourism and Youth 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 is a body for networking and cross-sectoral cooperation with various institutions involved in the field of youth on a local level (schools, offices of the Ministry of Interior, National Employment Service offices, Health Centres, etc.).
Following the EU Youth Guarantee Programme, aimed at providing youth under 30 years good quality offer of employment, good education, apprenticeship and traineeship, in 2024, National Employment Service started piloting Youth Guarantee in Serbia in three municipalities - Nis, Krusevac and Sremska Mitrovica. Activities will be implemented through a set of public calls announced on the webpage of the National Employment Service.