Bujanovac – A round table was, yesterday, held at the Bujanovac “Vuk Karadzic” community center, during which the results of the survey, in which 105 youths aged from 18 to 28, had participated, were presented. The survey, which was part of the project "Cultural Needs of Youth in Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja – How to Achieve Dialogue", was conducted by the Leskovac-based Center Centre for Democracy and Development of South Serbia. The project is, through the European Progress program, financed by the European Union and the Governments of Switzerland and the Republic of Serbia.

The roundtable was attended by representatives of the local self-government, the European Progress program and several councilors in the local assembly.

Survey respondents from all three local ethnic communities believe that cultural events in the Bujanovac municipality could be better.

The surveyed young people from the Serbian, Albanian and Roma communities named local authorities as the most responsible for such a situation. 

One of the participants in the round table, Rahim Salihu, the Chief of Staff of the Mayor’s Office, believes that the local self- government involved a lot of young people in the development of events in their environment.

He, as examples, mentioned young councilors in the Municipal Assembly, youth engagement within the professional practice program, as well as the co-funding of creative ideas and projects of representatives of the youth population in the municipality of Bujanovac.

Boban Pavlovic, the Assistant Mayor, said that 25.5 million dinars had been earmarked in that year’s municipal budget for training young employees, 10 million dinars for beginners in business or for those who already had their business, then 23 million dinars for subsidies provided to farmers, 1.7 million dinars for folk ensembles, etc.

Miodrag Milkovic, Deputy Head of the Serbian Progressive Party coalition group in the Bujanovac Municipal Assembly, pointed to the insufficient budgetary funds of 1 per cent allocated for culture, as well as the lack of feedback on the funds spent on professional training. 

Mr. Milkovic pointed out that it was necessary to provide strategic conditions for creation of jobs and that it would happen only when the state apparatus was reduced.

Ragmi Mustafa, Head of the Party for Democratic Action group in the Bujanovaac Municipal Assembly, said that the local self-government had not forgotten the young considering that the Youth Office was established back in 2010.  

The project "Cultural Needs of Youth" in Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja – How to Achieve  Dialogue?" is aimed at developing and promoting inter-ethnic and intercultural dialogue to increase community cohesion, particularly among young Serbs, Albanians and Roma in the three municipalities.

The results of the project were published in a brochure that was promoted at yesterday's roundtable.

Source: Bujanovacke and Coordination Body