Young people in the north are the least interested in being active in their communities, they are burdened by unemployment, and the younger generations in Montenegro view voluntary contribution to society as a waste of time.
He told "Vijesti" that David Vukicevic, president of the Network for Youth Activism of Montenegro.
"Young people have an extraordinary opportunity to get involved in volunteering and activism, because in this way they not only contribute to their community, but also develop their critical thinking and become intellectual authorities in the social life of Montenegro," explains Vukićević in an interview with "Vijesti".
The Network for Youth Activism of Montenegro (MOACG) is a youth organization that aims to empower young people to take an active role in society and promote sustainability, action... MOACG works on various projects, which are aimed at education, environmental protection, social inclusion …
Education for the labor market
When asked by "Vijesti" how much activism is represented among young people, Vukićević answered that Podgorica is the base of activities.
"Activism is most developed in Podgorica, somewhat weaker in the coastal part of Montenegro, and certainly the northern region is significantly behind the central and southern regions. Young people have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to working on their own skills, but also for participating in social processes. "Social activism is important for every young person, primarily for developing a personal sense of empathy, for developing communication skills and simply for better socialization of the person himself, but also for a better position of young people in the future," emphasizes Vukićević.
According to him, young people today face a series of challenges that are "extremely complex and different".
"One of the problems is youth unemployment, which stems from another problem - the mismatch of the education system with the needs of the labor market. Thus, young people in Montenegro often achieve notable results during the formal educational process, but fail to adequately adapt to the needs of the labor market. However, if they go abroad, which for our country represents a great loss for the future, but also for the present, these people achieve results", warns Vukićević.
He emphasizes that the reform of the education system is necessary.
"...In order for young people to be trained and adapted to the needs of the modern labor market".
Abuse of the law
Vukićević also points out that volunteerism among young people often encounters obstacles and a lack of understanding and recognition of the concept of work for the benefit of society.
"Young people sometimes wonder why they should volunteer, given that it is unpaid and seems like a waste of time. Volunteering is sometimes not perceived in the right way as caring for society, which may be related to our Act on Volunteer Work. Unfortunately, that regulation was often misused, and young people were used as cheap labor, instead of understanding volunteering in its true sense," says the MOACG president.
In the Network for Youth Activism of Montenegro, there are over two hundred volunteers who participate in various activities every day, and Vukićević notes that a volunteer is someone who contributes to the community, "a person with many virtues, a benevolent person who wants to help society, and thus helps to himself".
Stijepović: Strength is in critical thinking
MOACG currently has two departments, the organizational and media department, and in addition it has three thematic teams: the team for environmental protection, ecology and science, the team for culture and non-formal education and the team for the protection of human rights and freedoms
Teodora Stijepović, volunteer and coordinator of the media department, states that both departments have their daily tasks.
"The organizational department has a wide range of responsibilities under its jurisdiction - from making the schedule of the events we plan, to inviting and informing both volunteers and youth about the activities. The media department deals with the promotion of the organization through numerous guest appearances, designing different ways to attract young people's attention, such as interesting photo and video content. In short, creativity and imagination are the two words that best describe the media department," says Teodora.
They are aware, explains Stijepović, of the barriers that separate young people from youth activism, but also of their own potential.
"That's why our task is to give them an opportunity and awaken the awareness of young people about the power of their critical thinking and activity in society. At the end of the day, our main motto is "Young people start!", and we are persistent in making it happen", concluded Teodora Stijepović.
Celebrated a birthday and successful projects
The organization celebrated two years of existence yesterday. During that time, says Teodora Stijepović, they realized numerous projects.
"Of the activities that we implemented in the previous period, I would especially single out the project called 'Support to young people and citizens in the fight against hate speech and discrimination in order to reduce ethnic distance', with the support of the Government of Australia, which aimed to strengthen the willingness of young people to protect themselves and others from hate speech, to work on reducing the level of discrimination, and to activate youth and other citizens. As part of this project, two sets of workshops on the topic of 'Reducing ethnic distance through youth activism' and 'Improving the visibility of young people' were realized for future young activists in Podgorica, Bar and Rožaje," she explained.
As he says, MOACG also implemented the project "Reduction of corruption in the field of environmental protection", in cooperation with the NGO Organization KOD, Eco team and Network for Changes, with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
According to him, the project aimed to raise the awareness of public opinion, primarily young people, about the importance of prevention and suppression of corruption in the field of environmental protection.
"Also, I cannot leave out the workshop called 'Youth for Health without Corruption' realized in cooperation with the non-governmental organizations CEMI, Juventas and Queer Montenegro, in Cetinje, Nikšić, Rožaje and Bar. At the workshop, young people were informed about how much corruption is actually represented in all areas, especially in the health system, what is meant by the term corruption, as well as to whom and in what way they can contact and report such types of irregularities and thereby contribute to fight against corruption in Montenegro".
Poll "News"
Stevan Koprivica:
It seems to me that the interest in volunteering is somewhat less. If there is no charge, then the interest is less. Volunteering is related to the empathy factor and compassion, which is now at a very low level. The general problem of young generations is a serious lack of educational and educational upbringing.
Radomir Kankaraš:
I think that young people are neglected, life is faster. Everything is a matter of individuality, from family to family, as much as one has time. I think games and phones don't allow them to volunteer, that's their priority. They are focused on games, "Playstation" and "YouTube".
Ana Carapić:
It seems to me that people, at least from my environment, deal with children a lot, although there are also those who don't, but because of work. I think it all depends on the environment you are in. They have other occupations rather than volunteering.
Draginja Cerović:
Young people are unemployed, they all leave us and I don't see a future for my children here. My son graduated from university, and my daughter is studying. I think there are many wonderful and quality children.
The authors are students of journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the UCG, on internship at "Vijesti".
Bonus video:
