For over twenty years, Center for Youth Education has been perpetually striving to build the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with the democratic values which guarantee the citizens their right to actively participate in the processes of social development. Led by this idea, we have been empowering individuals, as well as the organizations of the civil society, public institutions and decision makers, while actively advocating to create and implement the policies which protect the rights of the young people, women and children.
In order to achieve this goal, Center for Youth Education developed the four strategical directions of work: youth work, policy work, education and employment. This versatility enables us to have a direct approach to different target groups. This way, we create tailor-made programs and approaches which directly respond to the specific needs of each target group.
In order to put the young people in the focus of the society, we have been actively engaging in policy work. Center for Youth Education was one of the six CSOs which led the designing process of the Federal Law on Youth (passed in 2009). Since then, we have been working tirelessly on advocating for the youth. The municipal government of Travnik invited us to lead the process of creation of the new Youth Strategy (2019-2022).
Understanding the downsides of the current educational system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we also developed activities in formal education. Though the Jonkoping University Course of Leadership and Developmental Youth Work, we have educated and certified over 350 new youth workers in the last 20 years.
Our development enabled us to expand our work to a new strategic direction – employment. Following the needs of the young people, we established the Business Incubator in 2018. In less than a year, we established a local entrepreneurial “ecosystem” and a network of twelve start-up businesses. Parallel to the Incubator’s activities, together with the Regional Development Agency, we led the process of establishing a Local Employment Partnership.
Today, Center for Youth Education is a meeting point for CSOs, local government, public institutions, local entrepreneurs and other individuals who want to develop their ideas, articulate their needs, improve their own capacities, establish connections and partnerships with other stakeholders, get information, and ultimately to make a positive impact in the local community.