First dialogue between youth and local government institutions in Bosanski Petrovac: exploring the issues facing young people

The aim of this event was to create a dialogue so that young people from Bosanski Petrovac get the opportunity to have their voices heard to improve the position of young people in this municipality.

A number of different activities were organized as part of this all-day event. In the morning, members of the Youth Council performed a freeze performance on the streets of Bosanski Petrovac, which attracted the attention of young people and invited them to actively participate in the work of the Youth Council and the work of the Youth Club Bosanski Petrovac. Following the performance, through a workshop, the youth mapped their needs, which they presented in the afternoon to the Mayor of Bosanski Petrovac and councillors in the Municipal Council and other representatives of local institutions and organizations.

During the dialogue, young people presented the issues they are facing and invited the institutions and the mayor to work together to solve them. The mayor then responded to each issue raised by the young people, explained what the Municipality of Bosanski Petrovac has already done, and promised that he would do his best to solve as many of the issues that are within his competence in the coming period. For topics that are not within the municipality’s jurisdiction, he promised to turn to higher institutions and request a meeting in order to address the issues.

After the event, Adnan Družić, Officer for Youth and Work with Non-Governmental Organizations in the Municipality, stated: “I am proud to be one of the few communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina that celebrates this date. On International Democracy Day, young people were in focus and used democratic mechanisms throughout the day to express their needs. We first called on our peers to raise their voices and invited them to join us in mapping our needs, and then we had a dialogue with representatives of local authorities, to whom we outlined the issues we are facing. We have made the first big step, which in the future will contribute to improving the conditions for young people in our municipality. "

The President of the Youth Council, Omar Salihagić, pointed out that such dialogues are the way to improve the position of young people and that the Youth Council will organize more such dialogues in the coming period. In addition, he invited all young people to take an active part in all activities marking the Month of Peace.

The Bosanski Petrovac Youth Council and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) used the opportunity to wish everyone a happy International Democracy Day.