Lalošević: The Ministry of Sports and Youth will strive to be a "people's office"

In Montenegro, about 16 percent of young people are considered competent to understand various political concepts, which is why it is important to insist on reintroducing civic education into the education system, but also to change the culture of educational institutions that continue to function authoritatively in the Western Balkans.

This was concluded at the panel "Challenges of youth participation in decision-making processes", within the regional conference "Youth in the Western Balkan region - (self) excluded", organized by the Center for Civic Education (CEO) in cooperation with the TACSO office for the Western Balkans and Turkey with the support of the European Union, and as part of the contribution to the celebration of the European Year of Youth, the PR center announced.

As the Minister for Sports and Youth in the Government of Montenegro Vasilije Lalošević added, he is of the opinion that in the past two years there has been no progress in the development of the Strategy for Youth, because, as he reminded, there was a new organization of the department concerning youth policy.

"We no longer have the Directorate for Youth and Sports, we have the Ministry of Sports and Youth. I think that this act alone has made a significant step forward, because the organization of the Ministry gets greater powers and opportunities to do things that you could not do before," said Lalošević.

He reminded that in cooperation with UNDP, the process of developing a new Strategy for Youth was initiated and that a public invitation was issued to all NGOs to participate in it.

"The youth strategy is very important. With the new approach, we want to eliminate platitudes and generalizations, and to do concrete things that will guarantee progress, to include all segments of society and thus create a good document. It is a job that will take several months. The government's The work program is scheduled for the third quarter," said Lalošević.

He said that the Ministry of Sports and Youth will strive to be a "people's office", to work transparently and to provide equal opportunities for everyone.

Research associate of the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Marko Kovačić, reminded, as pointed out, that research shows that 20 percent of young people are considered competent to understand various political terms.

"In Montenegro, about 16 percent of young people are considered politically competent. I think this is very important information for all decision-makers. It is necessary to insist on reintroducing civic education into the education system. Learning how to be a citizen and how to live in a democracy is crucial. quality to be integrated into the education system, not only in a way to learn about it, but it is important to change the culture of educational institutions, which continue to function authoritatively in the Western Balkans", stated Kovačić.

He also assessed that it is necessary to create an encouraging environment for cooperation between the formal and informal education system, but also to strengthen civil society organizations dealing with this topic.

The General Secretary of the Umbrella Organization of the Youth of Serbia (KOMS), Miljana Pejić, said that data from the Alternative Report on Youth indicate that 85 percent of young people believe that they cannot influence decision-making, according to the announcement.

"One of the strong reasons why young people do not participate is the belief that even if they do get involved, nothing in particular will change. Consequently, one of the key challenges is to tell young people that we will hear their voice," believes Pejić.

She assessed that it is significant that there is a critical mass of young people who are ready to hold institutions accountable and to motivate them to direct more money and open more opportunities for young people who want to participate but don't know how.

The statement adds that the president of the Network for the Youth of Montenegro, Miloš Marković, pointed out that during their childhood, young people in our region create a template that they have to listen to, stating that it is difficult to replace it with a new one later, "and ask them to be leaders and revolutionaries, because they feel they can't do it".

"It is not easy for any young person to step out of the template that is generally accepted in society, especially with attitudes and opinions that, if they interfere with politics, can be labeled as inappropriate," said Marković.

He characterized the Youth Act as a "glossary of youth policies", and the national strategy as a beautifully designed document, noting that there are wish lists, but that there is no capacity or will to implement what is written there.

"Young people should be given the opportunity to design a national strategy themselves and hand it over to the competent institutions," said Marković.

During the discussion, it was stated that the older population cannot understand the needs of young people, that young people understand their peers best, that institutions need to find a specific channel for informing young people who are not interested in activism, and that politics is tied to something that is modern. It was also assessed that the existing youth services do not serve their purpose, the announcement concludes.