Young people in Serbia participate in policy-making through Parliamentorship
To amplify the voices of young people in the political sphere, WFD in Serbia launched the Parliamentorship Initiative, in collaboration with the UNICEF office in Serbia and with the support of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. The aim: To foster greater institutional and parliamentary participation among young people.
A unique mentorship experience for young leaders
Running from October 2024 to March 2025, the Parliamentorship Initiative brought together 20 members of the UNICEF Youth Advisory Board in Serbia, all aged 15 to 25. They were paired with 11 members of parliament from nine different parliamentary groups, including both ruling and opposition parties. These MPs, who are members and deputy members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, mentored the young people, guiding them through the intricacies of policy-making and parliamentary processes.
Inspired by international best practices, particularly the UK Youth Parliament, the initiative adapted its methodology to suit the Serbian context.
Addressing youth violence
The pilot phase of the initiative focused on the theme of Violence Involving Youth, addressing a critical issue in today’s society. Participants were divided into four thematic groups, each tackling a different aspect of youth violence. Each group consisted of five young participants, two to three mentors, and a parliamentary advisor.
These groups approached the initiative theme from four distinct sectoral perspectives, developed through participant discussions:
- Digital violence
- Mental health
- Inclusive education
- Prevention of violence
Participants were engaged in two types of activities: educational and mentoring, where they deepened their understanding of the issues at hand and explored potential solutions.
The work of the participants resulted in a total of 33 policy recommendations, some that are immediately applicable, while others have the potential to be developed into guidelines for public institutions or even formal bylaws and laws. These recommendations include: improvement of the school subject "Digital World"; education and support for teachers in socio-emotional learning; introducing content about Roma culture into the general school system; and design of a new violence prevention strategy.
“The recommendations that the participants drafted are truly excellent, and for me, even a bit unexpected for young people that are between 15 and 24 years old and who are still at the beginning of their professional careers. They have really gone deeply into significant issues”, said Dejan Bursac, parliamentary advisor on the project.
All recommendations have been compiled into a "Final Report on Parliamentorship Activities." This document was formally presented to the Deputy Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child during the closing event, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards more youth-inclusive policies.
“We will strive to ensure that the adoption of this document happens at the next session of the Committee on the rights of the Child. The document is very comprehensive and I believe it concerns various ministries of our country”, says Zagorka Aleksic, Deputy Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
During the mentoring meetings and the final event, MP mentors have pledged to advance these recommendations within the parliamentary agenda of the Committee sessions and plenary sessions.
