Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The national conference “Inclusion Live – Toward Inclusive Youth Policy” was held on 19 June 2018 in the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade, and it was attended by all relevant national and local stakeholders working on achieving goals set in the National Youth Strategy 2015-2025 related to active participation and inclusion of young people from socially vulnerable groups.

This one-day conference was organised as the final event for the “Inclusion Live” project. The goal of the conference was the exchange of views and experiences which would enable the formulation of conclusions, and thus contribute to the institutional development of an inclusive youth policy that would be in line with basic principles of the National Youth Strategy – respect for human and minority rights, equality, anti-discrimination, and equal opportunities for all. Furthermore, the goal of the conference was also to enable the achievement of strategic objectives set in the National Youth Strategy regarding the support to the social inclusion of youth at risk of social exclusion, and their active participation.

The conference was attended by more than 120 participants, representatives of youth associations, associations for youth and their networks, local self-governments and youth offices, Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Protector of Citizens, Commissioner for Protection of Equality, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, centres for social work, international partners, etc. The conference was opened by representatives of the ministries and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, and attendees were addressed by Dragana Jovanović Arijas, Manager of the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. After the introductory presentations, there were panel discussions and workshops during which certain recommendations were defined. These recommendations should enable larger inclusion of young people from vulnerable groups, better competences of those working with the youth and more developed cross-sectoral cooperation.

The national conference “Inclusion Live – Toward Inclusive Youth Policy” was organised by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights in cooperation with the National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS), National Association of Youth Workers (NAPOR) and National Association of Youth Offices, with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sport and OSCE Mission to Serbia.