Being Young in the Balkans

29 July 2005

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.

Consider this: the other day, yours truly sat with a couple of friends in my home town, and lacking other more proper conversation subject, we started counting the number of people we know that have left the country for the glitter of the West (well, to be honest, for the better wages there, but, nothing is perfect). The conclusion was that over 200 people that we know by name have permanently moved abroad, or travel to EU countries to do seasonal manual work.

Now, for a town of some 15,000 people, 200 people is slightly less than the number of students that enroll the local high school every year. The situation is not much better elsewhere in the region. What went wrong?

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.

Albania
Whether they are at school, on the job or just sitting in a caf�, they all have the same dreams, the same desires. Unfortunately, there is also the same pessimism. They suffer from apathy and they complain and nag about the lack of opportunities in Albania. For the majority, the only solution is to move abroad. The number of applications for foreign universities, as well as the long visa lines in front of the embassies are more than enough in terms of proof for this claim.

The solutions lay side by side with the problem. A lot of young people think that apathy is the root of their problems. Living constantly under pressure of that apathy, remnants of the old system where people didn�t have rights, just obligations, makes all change difficult. In Albania, there are many youth organizations that invest a lot of effort to move the things ahead, but few of them are really active and accepted by the respective local communities.

One effect the former regime had on the local communities is that they are have no confidence in the youth and their activities, never mind the fact that it was the youth that brought down the dictatorship. They look at the youth with hope, but don�t provide adequate support for their activities.

Nonetheless, the young don�t give up. They plod forward slowly but steadily, offering solutions for the problems of the society.

Associated in NGOs or informal groups, the youth moves towards a more developed society. The Albanian Youth Council, MJAFT and the �Volunteer Action� (PASS), have demonstrated on more than one occasion the effort to build a better life in Albania. Their activities, protests and solutions show to the community that the youth is moving towards a new society, carries the old values and accepts new ones. The effort to improve the system of education, to offer employment is directed to stop and prevent the brain drain. These organizations have developed close cooperation with the state institution and participate in the processes to find solutions not only for the problems of the youth, but of the whole society.

In spite of the good efforts in the field of employment, such as the improved access to information through internet sites (www.punesimi.info), the lobbying with government ministries and other institutions to open their doors to the young people, the efforts in the EU integration, the economic problems seem to have prevailed. The politicians take it for granted that the youth is, somehow, obligated to work for them, no matter if it actually holds quite the opposite positions. The youth problems are put aside, shelved in the institutions to wait for some more appropriate times. Therefore, it is a small surprise that the youth has lost the confidence in the institutions that represent it. Another identity crisis is caused by the conflicts between well established youth NGOs.

The last Parliamentary Elections may mark the rising of a new day for the youth. Lots of people with background of youth activism and involvement in youth NGOs have entered the parliament.
Now, the good image created for Albania through the numerous youth exchange programmes and initiatives, the energy they have invested in certain political situations results in the politicians approaching the youth with offers of additional action space and decision-making power. One such action was the monitoring of the elections, with 1,000 young volunteers providing the necessary transparency to the balloting.

Bosnia and Herzegovina
The main characteristic of the majority of the young population in Bosnia and Herzegovina is its low levels of active social participation, as well as in all areas of political action and decision-making.
The situation is conditioned by a variety of circumstances: the grave economic situation and high unemployment rates; the complicated bureaucratized political system; prevailing apathy in the society; outdated system of education; lack awareness of the ways to improve the situation through personal engagement and activism, etc. All of the above, but also much more, represent various important elements of the so-called youth policy.
The process of advocating National Youth Policy in B&H has continued over the past several years. There are some results to be presented. However, as will all similar processes implemented in B&H on national level, it, too, takes a lot of time and faces numerous obstacles that slow it down.
Fortunately, these obstacles may slow down the process, but they can�t stop it complete, having in mind that the process itself is irreversible, just like the European integration and approximation to the positive standards of the developed world, EU in particular.

Bosnia and Herzegovina needs a strengthening of the spirit and activity of the youth, as well as their dedication, and to identify and invest in those young people that are capable of pushing their peers on the move forward, and can influence the development of youth cultural activities. At the same time, it is adamant to address the politicians and government officials and emphasize to them the importance and advantages of investments in the youth.

Youth Council in Croatia

In spite of the general passivity and lack of confidence in the future on the behalf of the youth in Croatia, there are initiatives directed at youth action on both local and national level. A lot of young people have left Croatia, the majority of those that stayed is very dissatisfied, but there are also those that found their niche in activities that contribute to better life.

Due to the accelerated processes of European Union integration, prominence was given in Croatia to the subject of Youth Councils in local administration. The initiative has started, but it seems that the authorities decided, in majority of cases, to put away the youth issues deep in some drawers and to wait for the problems to sort out on their own.

The initiative to establish youth councils in Croatia started in 2001, parallel to the process of preparation of the first National Youth Action Plan. The national level networking of youth associations started at approximately the same time, and in December 2002, the Croatian Youth Network (MMH) was established as a National Youth Council. At the same time, the preparations and the writing of the Law on Local Youth Councils began, with the aim to provide the legal background for the establishment and work of municipal, city and county youth councils.

Unfortunately, the draft-Law still waits to enter the legislative procedure, in spite of the series of debates and a number of changes introduced to the text. The last draft-Law regulated the work of the local councils as public advisory bodies to the local government, and not as independent autonomous local youth association networks.

The work of the National Youth Council, on the other hand, should be regulated with a separate Law on Youth Organization. In April 2005, the competent Ministry of Family, War Veterans and Inter-Generation Solidarity organized a national conference on Bjelolasica Mountain. The representatives of the youth organizations discussed these two subjects at the conference, but they still wait for the conclusions adopted at there to become finite.

At this moment, youth councils have been established in several cities and counties in Croatia. Lamentably, they differ widely from one another in their composition, scope and function. MMH started the Youth in Councils (MUV) project, designed to standardize the existing councils, but also to introduce the high school students to the work of city and municipal institutions. MMH also supports all local initiatives towards the establishment of youth councils or preparation of local youth action programmes.

Montenegro
The first association to the work �youth� in Montenegro has to be dissatisfaction. The youth is not satisfied with its social status, the system of education, cultural life, entertainment offered, employment policies and much much more.

Most young people in Montenegro don�t own a passport, therefore, they miss on the opportunity to travel around and see the life of their peers in the developed countries. However, there is the general awareness that all could be better and more, for the moment, mostly expressed through the conclusion that they should leave Montenegro as soon as possible and not risk spending the best years of the life here. This was the logic that backed the decision of hundreds of young people to turn a page for good and leave Montenegro over the past decade and a half of turbulence in the Balkans. Dozens of young university graduates from Montenegro seeks its place under the Sun somewhere in Western Europe, and Montenegro is stuck where it was � without a clear and realistic youth policy.

An adequate employment policy remains the key problem faced by the youth of Montenegro. The economy, weakened by years of isolation and incompetent policies, doesn�t have the power to hold the throngs of young people that leave the University with baccalaureates each year. The interest for adequate education, however, does not fall, and University admits more and more students each year.

The addiction diseases, primarily alcoholism, nicotine and drugs abuses, are another key challenge for the youth. The research conducted by NGOs and state institutions on use of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes have recently widened their scope of interest to the elementary school population, which is another indicator of the �success� of prevention policies in Montenegro.

Finally, if you are between ages of 18 and 28 and live in Montenegro, you have several options. You can enroll in the University and accept the small odds to find a job in the chosen vocation, continue to burden the household budget and join the army of young people that seek any, usually low-wage job. The third option includes a silent observation of the daily life from a caf� garden, drinking coffee and mineral water that you can afford thanks to the money you got out of your parents for the day.

Macedonia
It seems only natural that, in a state which faces only problems � poverty, exorbitant unemployment rates, religious and ethnic intolerance, rising crime rates and rampant corruption � almost 80 percent of the young population sees its future abroad.

Ever since Macedonia declared independence, the coordination of youth policies has been, to put it mildly, chaotic. The youth policy competences fell to the Ministry of Culture, and the old youth organization structures were inherited by the Youth Council of Macedonia, which focused all its efforts to the international affairs, at the expense of its passive position regarding the youth problems on national level. The Youth Council failed in the basic task of any national council, to be a coordination structure for the majority of youth democratic associations in Macedonia.

The economic and social crisis in Macedonia have contributed to the fact that the young population is especially vulnerable to external negative influences. Such problems and negative trends only deepen with the arrival of the young generation of �instant consumers�, especially susceptible to the problem of drug abuse; eroded system of education and the alienation of the youth both inside and out of the education process; the race for quick profits and the rise in petty crime; the brain drain processes; the reduced youth participation in public affairs; erosion of cultural values; insufficient opportunities to express their creativity and innovation; etc.

As a result, we have reduced options an possibilities realistically available to the youth, there is no guarantee for equal access for all youth to the existing services and assistance in the field of education, employment, social welfare, public and political affairs and culture. The youth problems lay deep in the shadow of the overall economic situation.

On the other hand, the development of civil society and plurality in Macedonia have brought about a series of positive changes in the youth organization and association, with emphasis on the development of plurality in youth organization, the appearance of new forms of association and establishment of strong international relations.

In the sea of youth NGOs working in Macedonia, the majority is interested in the current situation and perspectives for the youth. Importantly, they are also an opportunity for professional engagement of a great number of young people.

Kosovo
Young men and women in Kosovo (under the age of 25) constitute 52 % of the population and are a valuable human resource to be capitalised upon Kosovo's future development. This social group must be afforded with incentives and opportunities to place them on an equal footing with their European counterparts, or at least to address current levels of vulnerability

Kosovan youth face immense challenges, not least of which is a staggeringly high rate of unemployment: this is over 63% for those aged between 15 and 24 years. According to the SOK (�Kosovo Demographic abd Health Survey 2003�) March 2004, as much as 85% of 15 to 19 year olds and recent graduates or school dropouts are unemployed. Figures from the Department of Labor and Employement show that in 2003, youth suffered the highest increase in unemployement (14.6%).

The unemployment rate among young women is 74% while for young men it is 56%. Given that just about a third of the population is under the age of 14, the job crisis facing a future generation of Kosovans is even more alarming.

The challenges facing young entrants to the labor market in Kosovo warrant attention. Upon entering the labor force, young Kosovans join an already large pool of people (approximately 580,000) who also are in search of meaningful participation in the economy. And yet, their skills are shaped by an educational system of questionable quality.

Thus many are under tremendous pressure to take informal jobs, such as street vending and so on. According to the World Bank, lack of practical knowledge and work experience, combined with low skills, represent a key barrier to unemployement entry for graduates and dropouts. The enrollment rate in tertiary education in Kosovo has decreased. The lack of development in education sector has meant that there are insufficient places available for the large youth population.

A recent Report from the Riinvest Institute highlights the urgent need for reforms in the sector to properly prepare Kosovo`s young population for the labor market needs of the 21st Century. Otherwise it is likely that many young people in Kosovo will remain unskilled over long periods of time, have lower wage levels, and, as a result, be increasingly vulnerable to slipping into poverty. Special efforts must be made to create better opportunities and choices for this pivotal social group.

Serbia
More than a half of the young population in Serbia has never traveled abroad. Many of them have never seen an open sea, never been to the neighbouring countries... The decade of wars, impoverishment, rising crime rates, tectonic social changes, they have all left their mark on the population between 15 and 25 years of age.

The unemployment seems to be the major problem. According to latest research, the youth unemployment rate in Serbia is 48.8 percent, and is three times the general unemployment rate in Serbia, at 18.5 percent. Over a half of the young population waits for a job for more than two years, while 70 percent of the youth has never had a job.

Huge numbers of youth have left Serbia for good over the past ten years or so. Unofficial figures state that about 300,000 educated people have left the country, dissatisfied with their social status, lack of employment in their field of expertise, the isolation of the country from the global trends, lack of housing. They all seek a more secure living abroad.

The youth in Serbia sees the music and sports stars, two categories of the Serbian society not overtly concerned about their daily sustenance, as role models. The pressure of poverty forces most young people to remain and live with their parents.

The dissatisfaction is the key feeling shared by the young people in Serbia. Interestingly enough, the living outside of the capital are far more dissatisfied than their peers that live in Belgrade. The former are more willing to leave the country for good.

That is the social environment of the youth in Serbia, now facing the European integration processes. These are, indeed, serious challenges and yet, there is not a single body on state level that would deal with youth problems.