Belgrade, December 22, 2020
Press conference ‘’Youth and entrepreneurship research results” of the “OUR COMMUNITY, OUR FUTURE – Toward greater cooperation and youth employability” project, implemented by Belgrade Centre for Human Rights in partnership with National youth council of Serbia (KOMS), M-peeria and National Association of Youth Workers (NAPOR), was held today at the Media center in Belgrade.
This action is part of the global project “European Union Support to Active Youth Inclusion”, with total value of 4.7 million EUR, financed by the European Union and co-funded by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
The significance of this project is in awareness raising about the struggles which young people face in Serbia, when it comes to self-employment and sending concrete recommendations to adequate institutions with the aim of creating better conditions for young unemployed people in Serbia.
Nevena Nikolić, Project Manager of the “OUR COMMUNITY, OUR FUTURE – Toward greater cooperation and youth employability” project, stated that the main purpose of this research is to raise awareness of the general public, as well as economic entities and young unemployed people, which should provide a better understanding of the position of young people in self-employment and identify the challenges they face. The research made specific recommendations aimed at the Government of Serbia, state institutions, and organizations that deal with employment and encourage self-employment. The goal of the research and the recommendations is to create better conditions for self-employment of unemployed young people, and to remove obstacles related to the lack of conditions for starting their own business. The general goal of the research is to improve the long-term employability of young people in Serbia.
With concrete recommendations and their implementation, the process of employment and self-employment of young people can be legally and socially strengthened and improved.
The “European Union Support to Active Youth Inclusion” project, total value of which is EUR 4.7 million, financed by the EU and co-funded by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, aims to ensure greater social inclusion of youth population in Serbia by increasing of employment, youth activity, work experience and entrepreneurship practice among youth population. Through the project the EU and Government of Serbia has granted 24 grants, which will be implemented in more than 35 cities and municipalities in Serbia by the end of 2021. The projects implemented by the national and provincial social welfare institutions, municipalities and cities, citizens associations, foundations and educational institutions will increase the scope and quality of services at the local level in education and employment, innovative practice, active inclusion mechanisms and models and thereby strengthen the social inclusion of youth. The impact and tangible outcomes of the project are expected at all levels concerning the overall readiness and increased capacities of relevant institutions for the innovative development and management of youth active inclusion measures, policy development in line with best EU practices, and effective use of related EU financial assistance.
The project is managed by the Ministry of Finance, Department for Contracting and Financing of EU Funded Programmes (CFCU), while the project beneficiary institutions are the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and Ministry of Youth and Sports
More about the project can be found on www.ukljucivanjemladih.rs
The European Union’s donations to Serbia exceed EUR 3.6 billion from 2000 to date. The funds have been used to support development, quality of life and reforms in: civil protection, flood relief and protection, education, connectivity, environment, health and consumer protection, culture, rule of law, local development, jobs and growth, public administration, migration, public financial management, civil society and media, social inclusion, youth and sport. EU support is implemented in cooperation with the Government of Serbia. The European Union is a larger donor of development aid to Serbia than all other international donors put together.
