BiH Social-Democratic Party has, in September 2017, in the scope of their campaign „We Are Staying Here“, started working on the Plan for Youth – public policy of the SDP Youth Forum, with the aim to, in the period 2018-2022, create conditions that would keep young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the first time that young people of a certain political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina come out with their plan as a part of the Electoral Programme for the Elections 2018, and that contains tangible, necessary and feasible changes needed for young people’s stay and dignified life in BiH.

On that occasion, the vice president of SDP BiH, Ms Lana Prlić, invited young people and organisations that work with young people, including Sarajevo Open Centre, to participate in the creation and realisation of the Plan for Youth, providing their attitudes, opinions, suggestions in the form of comments to the Plan.

The team of Sarajevo Open Centre has reviewed the Plan for Youth in detail and commented on it – provided its general, as well as very specific remarks, through the areas it thematises and that relate to employment, education, culture and sports, social activism, free/leisure time, housing for young people, anti-nationalism, safe and regulated community.

A special emphasis we put on gender equality, women’s rights, human rights of LGBTI persons and other marginalized groups in BH society, and pointed out the need to create and adopt gender sensitive and inclusive policies.

This way of including civil society and social groups that are covered by the strategy in the very making of strategic documents is an excellent method of improving social inclusion and ensuring the representation of interests and needs of a larger number of BiH citizens.

We are glad that SDP BiH has recognized Sarajevo Open Centre as an organisation that, by giving its suggestions, can contribute to this extremely valuable strategic document. We hope that our inputs and advice will be of good use, and that this way of cooperation and inclusion of the representatives of civil society in the making of strategic documents of importance to BH society will become the practice of other political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.