81283510-Prospects for young people in rural areas in Serbia

Despite their enormous potential, young people in rural regions of Serbia are only able to shape their political, social, economic, and cultural environment to a very limited extent. The relationship of young people towards political and social processes as well as towards institutions of society, politics and the state are often characterised by resignation, disinterest and mistrust. Two thirds of young people in Serbia do not believe that their society will improve in the future. Regarding economic participation, it is evident that despite an average annual growth rate of 4%, the income opportunities of young people in the rural regions of Serbia - including returnees - are still very limited. The youth unemployment rate of 26.5% (3rd quarter 2020) is a reflection of that. It is estimated that half of employed young people are working only in part-time or temporary jobs and not according to their education. Moreover, young people in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises often lack the skills to identify new business opportunities, enter new markets and improve their skills in these areas. As a result, young people in rural regions can only make very limited use of the many opportunities that exist, for example, in the sectors of (organic) agriculture and rural tourism, to improve their income. In addition to a lack of economic prospects, young people in rural regions in Serbia have hardly any opportunities to shape their socio-cultural environment and to participate in decision-making processes relevant to them. For many young people, one solution to the lack of prospects lies in migration to the larger cities and abroad. It is estimated that two thirds of young people in Serbian under 30 have at least a moderate desire to emigrate, which is particularly strong among better educated and in connection with a rather pessimistic view of the future of Serbia. The subsequent reintegration prospects of returnees from abroad vary greatly and are strongly linked to individual factors such as level of education, social network and migration patterns. In particular, the above-average representation of Roma (75% of returnees, with a share of 4 to 7% of the total population) faces special challenges in their economic and social reintegration. Due to their often very low employability, they take up precarious informal jobs more frequently than average. Furthermore, their social status is often additionally stigmatised due to their migration experience. The module focuses on enabling opportunities for youth including returnees in rural areas in Serbia to participate actively in shaping their economic and social environment. The target groups of the project are young people in rural areas (between 18 and 30 years of age), as well as vulnerable groups such as returnees, young women, and ethnic minorities (between 18 and 40 years of age). The TC module is fully funded through the Returning to New Opportunities Programme. Intermediaries are experts from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as the decision-makers and employees of the local self-governments in the pilot municipalities who are entrusted with youth promotion. Both groups of intermediaries can benefit from counselling and training measures and thus improve the quality, scope and accuracy of their measures, approaches and cooperation modalities.