The OSCE Secretariat Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in co-operation with the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of the Canton of Sarajevo and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, held a multi-stakeholder event on 27 and 28 September in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to support the development of the 2024-2028 Youth Strategy.
"The strategy aims to meet the needs and aspirations of young people and to create a better future for them and for the Canton of Sarajevo as a whole," said Nikad Uk, Prime Minister of the Canton of Sarajevo.
"It is crucial to prioritize strengthening youth crime prevention as part of this strategy, in order to mitigate the negative effects of youth crime, promote public safety and security, and most importantly to ensure that young people have access to positive opportunities and support systems that enable them to make legal and productive choices."
Representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture and Sports, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the Canton of Sarajevo discussed the development of the youth strategy and learned about international best practices in the field of youth crime prevention.
"The event marks the beginning of our work on this topic, which will be finalized at the beginning of 2024. The strategy will then be replicated across the other Cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Uk said.
These efforts are part of the OSCE-wide multi-year project, Enhancing youth crime and drug use prevention through education on legality and awareness campaigns addressing threats of organized crime and corruption, which is funded by Italy. Other donors supporting this project are Andorra, Germany and Poland.
