August 2026
The advocacy initiatives for Vranje, Subotica and Niš were developed through the Youth Policy Lab process within the “Your City – Your Voice” project, based on analyses of local public policies, the needs of young people, and consultations with young people, civil society organisations, institutions and other local stakeholders. They contribute to strengthening participatory decision-making at the local level.
The initiatives propose concrete solutions for increasing young people’s participation in the development of policies that directly affect their lives – in the areas of youth employability in Niš, cultural policy in Subotica, and youth health in Vranje. Their common goal is to improve cross-sectoral cooperation and establish sustainable mechanisms through which young people become active partners in planning the development of their communities and in decision-making.
The Center for Democracy Foundation develops and implements the Youth Policy Lab methodology, drawing on its experience from the large-scale regional RYDE project (“Regional Youth Dialogue for Europe”), which fostered cooperation and connections between young people, civil society organisations and decision-makers in developing proposals for improving public policies. The knowledge gained and lessons learned were applied through the “Your City – Your Voice” project, where the structured dialogue model was adapted to local needs, demonstrating its potential to become a sustainable mechanism for involving young people in public policy development in local self-government units.
(The advocacy initiatives are available in Serbian.)
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This material was published with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Center for Democracy Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
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
