OSCE Mission in Kosovo encourages youth participation in decision making

“Everyone in our town talked about democracy this week,” says 25 year-old Arlind Hysa, head of the Local Youth Action Council (LYAC) in Kaçanik/Kacanik in south-eastern Kosovo.

He and 15 other council members, supported by the OSCE Mission, took on a leading role in organizing activities to mark International Democracy Day in their town on 15 September 2011.

According to Arlind, in order to raise awareness about democratic principles among their peers they organized a democracy quiz in two high schools. “The quiz had 40 questions,” he says. “They got 39 of them right, which tells us that the students took the quiz seriously and while preparing for it they learned about transparency, accountability and the responsiveness of governments towards the public.”

Giving youth a voice

The OSCE Mission has supported the establishment of LYACs in most municipalities in Kosovo.

“The Local Youth Action Councils are included in the legal framework regulating youth participation in decision-making processes, and this legal framework is in line with international standards,” says Jared Hays, Acting Director of the Mission’s Democratization Department. “Establishing the councils has given young people a voice in deciding on issues that affect their quality of life.”

The local youth councils gather existing groups in each area who deal with issues of concern to young people, providing unified representation for lobbying local institutions, thus creating a stronger impact for youth causes.

Democracy: today and everyday

The OSCE helped mark International Democracy Day in municipalities throughout Kosovo. “The event’s motto - Democracy: today and everyday! - was in line with the Mission’s continuous support offered to the youth councils, which goes well beyond the day itself,” notes Hays.

Following the establishment of the groups in December 2010, the OSCE has held training sessions for council members across Kosovo. In Kaçanik/Kacanik, these focussed on identifying problems and project drafting. The Mission also helped the council implement projects which made a real difference to local young people.

“Our town library had not been updated with books for many years, so we approached the OSCE with a project to help us buy university books. Now, the library is richer by some 50 books that would be too expensive for many to buy,” says Hysa.

Another success for the council was the clean up of an illegal dump site in the town and turning the area into a small park. “To make it even better,” adds Hysa, “people are keeping it clean as they see how beautiful the greenery is.”

Looking forward

Recently-created youth councils are also gearing up to get active. Zoran Stanković, president of the Ranilug/Ranillug LYAC, said that prior to the creation of the council the young people in his municipality found it hard to make a difference on their own. “As very little was being done for us, we had to take matters in our own hands,” he says. “We got together and registered an NGO, Central za Društvenu Organizaciju (Centre for Social Organization), and started organizing activities for young people, such as theatre shows.”

Now, Zoran’s NGO is a part of the council, and together with the other members they are working on getting the council’s activities started. “We now have the statute all worked out and the action plan until 2013 is being developed,” he says.

LYACs in different municipalities are at different stages of development and activism. The next step for the OSCE will be to bring them together on 13 October and improve their communication and co-operation.

“LYACs are now set up in 27 Kosovo municipalities. We are going to focus on building their capacities and will help them turn into a strong lobbying mechanism for youth interests,” says Hays. In addition to supporting youth councils at the local level, the OSCE will also strengthen the capacities of the recently-established Kosovo-wide Youth Action Council that will lobby for youth interests with central-level institutions.

Written by Mevlyde Salihu and Nikola Gaon