WHAT DO THE YOUNG NEED TO GET EMPLOYMENT?

Belgrade, 12 April 2006: The 44th Meeting of non-governmental organizations organized under the auspices of HRH Crown Princess Katherine Organization was held today at the White Palace in Belgrade, where the Assistant Minister of Education and Sports of the Republic of Serbia Mr. Bogoljub Lazarevic, Mrs Mirjana Popovic from the World Bank, Mr. Vladimir Kozbasic, Assistant Secretary for Sports and Youth of AP of Vojvodina and Mr Igor Jezdimirovic, President of the Students Union of Serbia, were looking into the issues concerning “Youth and Employment”.

Mr Lazarevic explained in detail the activities that the Ministry of Education and Sports has been undertaking in order to align the classical high-school education and vocational education with the requirements of the Copenhagen and the Lisbon Declarations, especially the turn in high-school education towards entrepreneurship skills (introduction of virtual companies programmes in certain economics high schools). He likewise announced the introduction of the final exam for primary school students and two different kinds of the final exam for vocational and/or classical high-schools.

The World Bank representative announced the “Development Marketplace” event that will take place in Belgrade on 17-18 May and serve to present the twelve best projects chosen through a competition and aiming at promoting youth employment.

“Even now, of the smaller number of students who complete higher education in time, around a quarter goes abroad and usually never returns” – stated the President of Students Union of Serbia Mr. Jezdimirovic. “Brain drain is still ongoing and this trend must be reversed by all possible means”.

Mr. Kozbasic presented the AP Vojvodina’s “Action Plan of Youth Policy in Vojvodina “, a unique document and process, considering the fact that it involved participation of both the young people and AP Government representatives from its inception and all throughout its implementation. The document gives realist, applicable suggestions for tackling the issues in the following eight areas of life of the young in Vojvodina: education, employment, health, culture and leisure time, active participation and civil society building/ volunteerism, mobility and information, environment and sustainable development, and social policy targeted at the young [www.omladina.info].

The next NGO Meeting will be held on 18 May, starting at 10 am, at the White Palace, and will be concerned with the “Demographic Situation in Serbia”.