Cabinet adopts Youth Strategy 2023-2027

The Montenegrin Cabinet adopted the Youth Strategy for the period 2023-2027 with an Action Plan for 2023-2024. This significant milestone aims to improve the prospects of young people in Montenegro.

Minister of Sports and Youth, Vasilije Lalošević, described this as a pivotal document in the field of youth policy. After extensive consultations with UNDP, the European Commission, and UNICEF, as well as numerous research efforts, the strategy was crafted. It addresses concerning statistics that nearly 55% of educated youth express a desire to leave Montenegro. The Spatial Plan we discussed today, together with the development of the Northern region, offers a chance to retain a portion of these young individuals who wish to return to contribute their knowledge and experiences. Minister Lalošević highlighted the positive aspect of these aspirations, emphasizing the importance of creating conditions that enable their return.

Minister Lalošević further stressed that the 141,000 young people under 29 in Montenegro deserve the adoption of this document. The strategy has four key operational goals: developing a sustainable and high-quality system of services and programs to support youth in their transition to adulthood, facilitating youth engagement in shaping and implementing public policies, enhancing interdepartmental contributions to improve the overall status of youth, and improving the mechanisms for effective youth policy creation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Martin Lulgjuraj, Director of the Youth Directorate, announced that the Ministry of Sports and Youth will propose the formation of a Coordination Body responsible for monitoring the implementation of this five-year strategic document. This body will include representatives from other ministries concerned with youth issues, recognizing that youth issues transcend a single ministry's jurisdiction. Lulgjuraj also emphasized the need for a larger budget allocation for this sector in the future.

To ensure that the strategic framework of youth policy is accessible to young people, the Ministry of Sports and Youth will create a "Youth-friendly" version of this document after the adoption of the Youth Strategy for 2023-2027.