OSCE Mission supports action plan to implement Serbia's national youth strategy

BELGRADE, 3 July 2008 - Representatives of more than ten Serbian ministries and other experts met today in Palic to discuss finalizing the action plan to implement Serbia's National Youth Strategy.

The three-day conference, which is supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia, brings together all the groups that have assisted the Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sports to develop a National Action Plan by its August 2008 deadline. The document aims to provide step-by-step recommendations for the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.

"The OSCE Mission to Serbia has supported the Ministry of Youth and Sports since it began its work on a youth strategy," said Anthony Pahigian, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. "We are committed to assisting the Ministry in the adoption of the Action Plan which, along with the National Youth Strategy, will enable the young people of Serbia to actively participate in all aspects of Serbian society."

The meeting will also focus on the financial aspects of implementing the Action Plan and on issues such as education, information, youth talent, health, equal opportunities and security.

Since 2007, at the request of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the OSCE Mission has supported the process of drafting the National Youth Strategy and identifying key legal areas and gaps for the preparation of this document.

"The adoption of a National Youth Strategy is the result of a very comprehensive, inclusive consultative process that involved the organization of 167 roundtable discussions, 10 regional conferences and numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings. This inclusiveness can serve as an example of best practice for other states in the region," said Pahigian.