The Youth Club (OK) of the Capital City of Podgorica should be recognizable, well-branded, accessible to everyone who belongs to the youth group, especially taking into account people with disabilities. The club should also be adapted in some of the spaces that are unused and are owned by the Capital City.
This was said by the acting secretary of the Secretariat for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society in an interview with "Vijesti". Slađana Anđušić.
The young people with whom "Vijesti" spoke about the Youth Club of the Capital City agree that in Podgorica it is necessary to further affirm young people to be proactive members of society, but also that there must be more opportunities for employment.
The youngest councilor in the Assembly of the Capital City Miloš Maskovic notes that Podgorica, as the administrative and business center of Montenegro, offers enough options for young people, but also that it must harmonize the educational program with the needs of the labor market.
"Unfortunately, young people in Podgorica do not have the opportunity to engage in specific or deficient occupations. I think the key question is what the city administration identifies as youth problems and what it implements in its strategies for the development of youth policies," Mašković said.
According to Anđušić, the need for the formation of a youth club was recognized earlier, so in accordance with that, "a change to the normative framework was made in the form of the previous Decision on the establishment of a youth club from 2022".
At the session of the Assembly of the Capital City, held on December 26 last year, the Decision on the establishment and functioning of the Youth Club of Podgorica was adopted.
Space for young people to connect
Anđušić believes that the motives for creating the conditions for youth activism remain the same and that it is necessary to leave room for young people to deal with "themselves in the way and according to the needs that they recognize and create".
The youth entity will best speak about the functioning of the OC, which, says Anđušić, will get space for management through a public call.
"It can be a non-governmental organization that implements youth policy, a student or student parliament, a youth organization and other legal entities that deal with youth work and implement that policy, recognizing the needs of young people. The decision to enable the establishment of youth clubs is a confirmation of the fact that the capital continuously listens to the needs of young people and works to improve their position", said the "Vijesti" interviewee.
According to her, OK's idea is to investigate all the needs of young people and, based on the analysis, determine and determine the priorities and needs of young people.
"We have examples of good practice in the environment, which show that youth clubs are a meeting place and a source of extraordinary ideas, content, and activities, where young people get the freedom and space to engage in various activities, whether it is informal education, start-up, art, socializing ...", says Anđušić.
It won't solve the biggest problems, but it will encourage activism
V. d. the secretary of the Secretariat for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society is of the opinion that "youth clubs will not solve the biggest problems in the field of youth policy or the lack thereof".
"But it will encourage youth activism through activities in the local community, such as volunteerism, humanitarian actions, cultural-artistic and entertainment-recreational and ecological events. Through these activities, young people will find the opportunity to express themselves, to spend their time in a quality way, to assert themselves and present themselves or simply hang out," Anđušić assessed.
Apart from the idea of establishing two youth clubs in the current year, another of the plans, says the "Vijesti" interlocutor, is to provide space, conditions, and implement a transparent and legal procedure for the management of the youth space.
"The real danger is the lack of youth activism, which we cannot and should not judge in advance, before creating the conditions for it, because the fact is that they do not exist at their full capacity now," said Anđušić.
Mašković: Not to be a dead letter
In an interview with "Vijesti", SD-LP member of the Assembly of the Capital City, Miloš Mašković, expresses the hope that the Youth Club will not be just a dead letter, but that it will be in the interest of all young men and women from Podgorica.
"OK will provide a platform for education, leadership development and social responsibility among young people. And this is something that happens in all the capitals of the European Union countries, which I believe we all strive for. Also, OK will enable young people to directly influence the decisions that affect their lives, which is crucial for the development of responsible social actors. However, I believe that there is a lot of room for action in terms of bringing the idea of OK to young people and what are its essential values that lead to the greatest involvement of young people in the decision-making process. Allow me to note that, in general, young people, especially in the capital city, are not sufficiently active or visible, which is why decision-makers often give themselves the right to push the problem of young people under the carpet", said Mašković.
Employment, traffic, housing...
One of the young interlocutors of "Vijesti", Nikola Radovanić he said that Podgorica offers a lot of opportunities and possibilities for young people, but that there is room for improvement.
"However, volunteering and youth activism do not pay the bills, and as someone who, due to lack of work, was forced to leave Podgorica, I believe that much more employment opportunities are needed for young people with a concrete career ladder and, of course, perspective," he said. Radovanić, adding that OK is "a very good idea that can connect people from any sphere".
Journalist of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) Andrea Perišić she pointed out that young people face many problems.
"I would highlight the fact that, today, it is very difficult for young people to leave the family home and start an independent life. The public has found information that the young people of Montenegro stay in their parents' home until the age of 33. We should ask ourselves why this is so, and one of the main reasons is that the country does not have the support systems provided for them to become independent, and this problem goes beyond the capital. We also see that apartment prices have risen abnormally. The Youth Club of Podgorica is a good initiative and I hope for concrete actions and developments, perhaps some proposals for acts and laws to the Assembly of the Capital City that would help to improve the position of the youth", said Perišić.
Postgraduate student Nikola Mumin He told "Vijesta" that traffic is also problematic in Podgorica.
"I'm referring to the inadequacy of the infrastructure to the daily number of road users. First of all, safety, parking, the still insufficiently developed public transport system, and traffic culture or traffic culture. I think that a good part of these problems can be solved by additional investment in the development of public transport at the level of Podgorica, its planning, with special attention to affordability, sustainability and connectivity. Also, I believe that additional work could be done to enable the daily adequate use of other means of transport in a safe manner, such as bicycles," said Mumin.
He says to OK that it is a good idea, but that he is not sure how it will affect the position of young people in the capital.
"I welcome any initiative that, in its conceptualization, has the idea of affirming young people and giving space to young people. There have been similar attempts before and I can't judge their impact with certainty, but I don't think it was significant. Certainly, I think that the idea is essentially good", concludes Mumin.
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