How Youth policy is funded

Youth Office has been co-funding youth work programmes since its beginnings. The amount of money available for youth work programmes in 2024 and 2025 is 3.662.800,00 EUR. Over the last decade funds have gradually increased (in 2015 and 2016 the two-year amount was 2,56 million EUR).

The National Programme for Youth (Resolucija o Nacionalnem programu za mladino 2013-2022 ), adopted in 2013 for the period 2013-2022, provides a range of different measures in the fields of education, employment and entrepreneurship, housing, health and wellbeing, the social position of youth, the development of the youth sector, culture and creativity, heritage, media.

The amount available for a wide set of measures defined in the National programme for Youth in 2015 was 169 million EUR (European funds included). The allocated resources in 2016 amounted to 199.6 million EUR.

What is funded

Measures of the National programme for youth are covering the following fields: 

• education: improving competences of young people; increasing international student mobility, 
• employment and entrepreneurship: facilitating start of working career for young people; improving the quality of employment; facilitating better coordination between work, private and family life, 
• housing: provision of capacities and systematic accessibility of housing for young people; affordable housing for young people and the establishment of support mechanisms, 
• health and wellbeing: promoting regular physical activity, a balanced diet and maintaining recommended body weight among young people; prevention of smoking and first attempts at smoking, risky and harmful use of alcohol and illicit drugs, ensuring healthy and safe entertainment for young people, and combating sport-related violence and vandalism; strengthening care for sexual and reproductive health of youth and family planning; promoting positive mental health among young people and reducing mortality from suicide among young people; ensuring a higher level of safety and health at work for young workers; improving road safety and reducing the number of injuries and deaths of young people in traffic; improving travel habits among young people as a commitment to sustainable mobility; reducing the impact of a changing environment on young people's health, 
• social position of youth and the development of the youth sector: promoting participation and representation of young women and men; promoting the establishment and development of organisations in the youth sector, the development of key areas of the youth sector and ensuring the functioning of non-organized youth; promoting participation and strengthening of international youth work and learning mobility in youth work; strengthening the research and analysis segment in the youth field; promoting volunteering among young people; promoting a sustainable mode of social action with a focus on the transition to a low carbon society and green economy; greater social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities, 
• culture and creativity, heritage, media: concern for accessibility of quality cultural offer and participation of young people in culture; caring for literacy in the Slovenian language, other native languages and foreign languages and media literacy; culture and creativity are socially recognized as a foundation of general education of each individual.
  
   

Financial accountability

Each ministry is responsible for its budget allocation for measures on national youth policy. The report about the implementation of the measures within the National Programme for Youth is prepared by the Office for Youth and adopted by the National Parliament. The correct and rational manner of use of public resources is monitored by the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia, which provides assessments on the conformity of operations with regulations and guidelines, and on the cost-effectiveness of operations.

Use of EU Funds

There were 4 public calls using European funds for youth sector only published in the period between 2009 and 2016.

1. European Regional Development Fund (13 million EUR in the period between 2009-2011) There were ten new youth centres established in Slovenia by the end of 2011 with ERDF support; their total accommodation capacity is 420 beds and their investment value amounts to approximately 13 million EUR. The centres are expected to provide a total of 20 000 overnight stays per year, and at least thirty new jobs.

2. European Social Fund (4 million EUR in a period 2010-2012) Four million euros were allocated through a special tender for establishing eight content networks bringing together youth organisations and external partners; they aim at providing better training to young people in the areas of social, citizenship and cultural competencies. All networks focus on quality human resources training within the framework of an emerging complex society, which is based on formal and non-formal forms and methods of education.

3. European Social Fund (0.8 million EUR in 2014) The aim of the call was to co-finance projects of non-governmental organisations in the youth sector to develop social and civic competences of young people.

4. European Social Fund (5 million EUR in a period 2016-2018). The aim of the call is to support innovative ways of youth work and within it employment of young people.