Youth policy in Serbia (2016)

In the late 2000s, Serbia impressed many in the youth field by creating almost the perfect storm in shaping its national youth strategy. As a result of widespread consultation with youth organisations and representatives, the carefully constructed strategy secured strong political support and a significant level of professional consensus.

But the true test of any youth strategy lies in its implementation. Political support can diminish, regional and local infrastructure and professional development can fail to keep pace with the aspirations of national action plans and targets, and line ministries may not give the level of priority to the youth agenda that was initially anticipated. Changing political administrations and less favourable economic circumstances can exacerbate this situation.

Youth policy in Serbia, the 21st international review of national youth policy conducted by the Council of Europe youth department since 1997, considers the state of Serbian youth policy in 2014. It is a story both of impressive achievements and unfulfilled dreams – as politicians of all persuasions in many countries are prone to say about policy development, things have come a long way in a short time, but there is still a long way to go.