Young people in Pljevlja most often spend their free time on social networks, cafes and discos, and only a small number of them spend their free time reading books.
This was shown by a survey on the needs of young people in Pljevlja, which was carried out by the local administration.
A similar study was conducted by the Municipality of Mojkovac. In the survey, conducted for the requirements of the draft Local Action Plan (LAP) for youth, young people rated the quality of educational institutions in that city as well as the quality of their lives, on a scale of one to five, with an average rating. Availability of employment opportunities was evaluated by the majority as "two". On the other hand, as the survey showed, the vast majority of respondents feel completely safe in Mojkovac.
The term "youth" refers to persons aged 15 to 30 years. According to the results of the 2023 census, there are a total of 24.124 inhabitants in the municipality of Pljevlja, of which 3.601 are young, which is 15 percent of the total number of inhabitants of Pljevlja. Young people in Mojkovac make up 18,1 percent of the population.
The survey in Pljevlja was conducted in October, and 185 young people aged 15 to 30 participated in it.
"A high percentage of negative ratings indicates that young people spend the least amount of time in the Youth Club or associations, which may indicate insufficient information among young people about the programs provided by the local community or the need to better adapt activities to the needs of young people. In addition, young people reported that they spend very little time reading books or comics or searching for cheap travel options.
These results are largely aligned with the trends that exist among young people (activity on social networks, socializing, etc.), but they also indicate that young people lack cultural content and that they potentially perceive challenges when traveling from Pljevlja to other cities in Europe and the world in question", the research commentary states.
The respondents believe that social and entertainment content, followed by educational, creative and cultural content, are missing from the contents intended for spending free time for young people in Pljevlja. A high percentage also recognized the need for creative content.
Sixty percent of young people in Pljevlja are most informed about sports events, cultural events (53 percent) and shopping discounts (45,4 percent).
"The answers received indicate that there is a need to offer additional content in which young people would be involved in their free time that is aligned with their interests, as well as that it is necessary to further improve the activities that are organized for young people in youth spaces and associations", it is stated in the Report.
Based on the answers regarding the main sources of information used by young people in Pljevlja, the social network Instagram is in first place, followed by local portals (PV Porta, RTPV) and the Vijesti portal.
Almost eighty percent of young people said that they have no influence on making decisions that concern them, and 37,3 percent do not participate in activities in their community at all. Almost ten percent are involved in the work of some NGO, and 8,1 percent in youth clubs and organizations.
Participation in political parties was highlighted by 6,5 percent of respondents.
When asked to name the changes they want to see in their city in the next five years, the majority of young people listed employment opportunities as a priority. A greater number of respondents indicate the need for support in the employment of young people, including measures such as favorable housing loans and benefits for young married couples. Young people point out that Pljevlja lacks adequate cultural content, and there is a strong need for sports content, especially a swimming pool, sports fields and additional spaces for leisure activities.
Environmental issues, especially reducing air pollution, also ranked highly in the responses. Young people believe that cleaner air and green areas would make the city more attractive to live in, while additional initiatives to preserve the environment would enable a healthier way of life. Many expressed concern about the departure of young people and the reduction of natural growth, stressing that better living conditions and environmental security are key to demographic stability.
In addition to the above priorities, the need for improving education through the opening of faculties and the development of professional training is also recognized among young people. A number of respondents believe that by opening colleges and high-quality professional programs, young people could realize their professional ambitions within the city, which would reduce emigration and increase the influence of local educated staff on community development.
75,7 percent of respondents use the Internet daily for education and information, and only 19,5 percent of respondents use the Internet for these purposes on a weekly basis, while smaller percentages use it monthly or less frequently.
In Mojkovac, only a fifth are satisfied with the availability of information
"Access to digital resources is rated by the largest number of young people with a grade of 5, and access to entertainment activities with a grade of 4 and 5. When it comes to the support of the Employment Agency (ZZZ) and the Municipality of Mojkovac in terms of starting a business, the largest number of young people grade it with a grade of 3, which is and for the degree of environmental awareness and care for the environment," the LAP draft reads.
According to the results of the survey, the most important areas for young people from Mojkovac for their development are education, employment, culture and art, sports and recreation, environmental protection, digitization and modernization. To the greatest extent, when it comes to changes in youth policies, young people emphasized that they would like to be more involved in decision-making, as well as for education and approaches to working with young people to change.
"Also, young people are increasingly interested in the application of youth policies through the informal education system. When asked "Which initiatives or activities for young people would motivate you to participate more in the local community", most respondents said that it would be sports and recreational events, followed by educational programs and trainings, cultural events, volunteerism...", some of the results of the survey .
The survey also showed that only a fifth of young people in Mojkovac are satisfied with the availability of information about programs and projects intended for them. Almost half of the respondents, however, expressed their willingness to participate in programs that promote the participation of young people in decision-making.
As suggestions for improving the quality of life, they mentioned creating better conditions for employment of young people after finishing school, improving infrastructure, opening new jobs, involving young people in decision-making, affirming and encouraging young people to contribute to the local community...
The absence of the Office for Youth is recognized as one of the basic problems in systemic planning and implementation of youth policy. As stated in the draft LAP, another challenge is that an official responsible exclusively for youth issues is still not engaged, but those tasks are performed by officials with already existing responsibilities.
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