Young People and Local Stakeholders Jointly Develop Recommendations for Improving Public Policies
The Center for Democracy Foundation held the first Youth Policy Lab in Vranje as part of the Your City – Your Voice project, dedicated to improving public policies and services in the field of young people’s mental and reproductive health.
Following the previously implemented training programmes for young people and civil society organisations, the Policy Lab represents the next step – a space where the identified needs and challenges of young people are translated into concrete proposals for improving local policies and practices.
Participants discussed the challenges faced by young people in Vranje in relation to mental and reproductive health, access to support and services, availability of information, and trust in institutions. Particular attention was devoted to what can be changed at the local level and how young people can be actively involved in shaping solutions to issues that directly affect them.
The joint work focused on identifying priority issues and possible courses of action as a basis for formulating concrete recommendations. The aim is to ensure that the recommendations do not remain merely an expression of young people’s needs, but clearly define what needs to be improved, which measures can contribute to change, and which local stakeholders can participate in their implementation.
The Policy Lab brings together young people, civil society organisations, local institutions and other relevant stakeholders, creating a space for dialogue on solutions that can contribute to better support for young people in Vranje. In this way, young people are not merely beneficiaries of existing services and policies, but active participants in their improvement.
The work initiated during the first session will continue through the next activities of the Youth Policy Lab process. The proposals will be further developed into public policy recommendations and subsequently presented to local institutions and other relevant stakeholders through public advocacy activities, with the aim of contributing to concrete changes in the community.
The project “Your City – Your Voice” is implemented within the project “EU National Resource Centre for civil society in Serbia” of the Belgrade Open School, financially supported by the European Union.
Center for Democracy Foundation
