August 12, the International Youth Day approaches. That day, the adults and the elderly will remember their sons, younger brothers and all the population of people between the ages of 15 and 25. We will hear, again and again, in numerous speeches, evocations of an old proverb which says that the future belongs to the young. That may well be true, but what about the present.

The youth in the Balkans has many things to complain about. High unemployment rates, deterioration of education systems all over the place, wide spread apathy and the sense of helplessness, the perceived inability to change the situation for the better… You name it, they will complain about it. No wander that the brain drain was identified as the single greatest problem facing these societies, with so many qualified or less qualified young people seeking a better future abroad.

The prevailing new ideology of unabashed consumerism, with its ideals of instant gratification, has lured too many young men and women to the dangers of drug-abuse and petty crime. The legacy of the recent wars and the intolerance of any diversity could only make the matters worse.

The west had its disillusioned “generation X” of the early 1990’s. The Balkans, we could say, has extended that to generations Y and Z, generations marked by raging wars, poverty, isolation. What they need is a chance, an opportunity to do the same things their counterparts in EU do: travel around, meet other people, get moving, get involved. A more relaxed Visa regime (or visa regimes, for that matter) could work miracles.

The youth civil society and non-governmental organizations have their work cut out for them. For starts, it seems that a simple provocation of any reaction, whatsoever, may suffice.

Now, please proceed to the brief overviews of the local situation in countries of the Balkans. Read More

11.11.2008 Last Friday, November 7, several thousands of young people gathered at the Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb, at the protest concert against youth violence. The concert, Everybody Has the Right to Live, was dedicated to Luka Ritz, a teenager who was beaten to death by a group of other teens who tried to rob him of his mobile phone and couple of pennies.

15.08.2008 A poll conducted in Goražde, July 23-25, shows that, in spite of public perception otherwise, the youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina is very much interested to get involved in decision making processes, but only if they are adequately informed. The analysis of the results shows that onesided communications adopted by authorities present the biggest problem to youth activism.

03.02.2006 Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina rarely initiate actions presenting their opinion and pointing out their problems to the public. With the support of the non-governmental sector and certain international organisations, some groups do manage to send messages to BiH politicians on behalf of their generation, and seek answers to their questions.

06.05.2008 The Youth Programme of BH Radio 1 is a new programming package of the national public radio and most popular radio station in Bosnia and Herzegovina.