Belgrade, Medvedja – The Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Serbia and the German Organization for International Cooperation (GIZ) hosted the final conference under the project "Promoting Youth Employment," which was held in Belgrade.

On behalf of the municipality of Medvedja, the conference was attended by the Mayor of Medvedja, Nebojsa Arsic, the President of the Municipal Assembly of the municipality of Medvedja, Milan Stevanovic, and the Assistant Mayor of the municipality of Medvedja, Nikola Andrejevic.

Under the auspices of the project and the final conference entitled “Experiences and Key Steps of Supporting Youth for Living and Working in the Countryside”, various measures were implemented with the aim of supporting organizations working with young people and young people engaged in the field of agriculture.

“Our goal is to provide young people today with all the mechanisms for ensuring their stable perspectives and a secure future. Serbia has young people who are creative, energetic, hardworking and educated and who are ready to face all the challenges.  We are here to support them with these kinds of projects and to empower them to overcome these challenges. When we invest in young people, we give them the power to create their own future,” Minister Udovicic said at the conference.

Every year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports conducts a "Survey of the Positions and Needs of Youth" in order to timely and comprehensively identify all the segments that are of importance to young people and provide them with sustainable mechanisms and support to overcome all the obstacles and challenges.

Through the financing of projects of local youth offices and civil society organizations for youth, the Ministry of Youth and Sports seeks to improve the conditions or to create the conditions for gaining new knowledge and skills, as well as to inform and encourage youth about employment and self-employment. By implementing the project "Encouraging Youth Employment," 12,670 young people gained the skills for better employability and professional practice, while 1,352 young people got employed and 21 social enterprises and 9 hubs were started.

The Municipality of Medvedja, along with the GIZ, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Agriculture, the City of Leskovac, the “Help” organization and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, is a partner in the project.

Source: South Serbia Info Center and Coordination Body