SErbia Today Interview Marijana Djakovic

TODAY

INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE ON SERBIAN CURRENT AFFAIRS

Serbia

Custom Search

SerbiaTODAY
BLOG

Amazon.com Widgets

Forecast Satellite

INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK
Nov. 23, 2009
Marijana Djakovic
Član Predsedništva Omladinske MrežeG17 Plus

Belgrade, Nov.23rd, 2009 - In conversation with the Member of the Presidency of Youth Network G17 PLUS, Marijana Djakovic, we tried to get answers on the involvement of youth in the political life of Serbia.

What do you think about the political activism of the youth in Serbia?

Marijana Djakovic: About one million of citizens in Serbia belong in the youth-category. That’s about one million of young people who can make an influence in decision-making process, especially if it directly involves decisions about the youth and their main issues. One million is a very powerful force and it’s not being used in its full capacity, which is unfortunate- because young people here are the ones who make changes. A large number of young people has never been a member of any kind of nongovernmental or students’ organization. Half of the youth says they don’t even like politics and only about 4-5% of the youth claims to be politically active. On one side, majority of young people is seen as passive and apathetic towards their social surroundings and on the other side- many young people believes they don’t have enough space to show and express their own needs and demands. I think that Serbian youth has to understand one thing: they are the only ones who can make decisions about their own future. That’s why they should participate in all aspects of social and political life, through different activities which don’t have to be political. Serbian society now takes more interest for the youth which is being shown through creation of the Ministry Of Youth and Sports. The Ministry initiated the National Strategy for the youth and Serbia was the last county in the region that adopted this Strategy.

G17 PLUS strongly encourages young people to be politically active through Youth Network and to be equal partners in decision-making. In that way, in partnership- we make the best decisions for the future generations.

What is the role of youth organizations of political parties in Serbia? Do youth of established parties have an impact on parties?

Marijana Djakovic: The number of youth members in political organizations is, more or less, satisfying and therefore their general impact can be decent, depending on how these organizations function from party to party. Some surveys report that about 20-40% of political party members are young people. Political youth, usually, is satisfied with the way how they work with the party’s seniors, explaining this relation through principles of agreement and equality. However, the public image about political youth shows an impression that young people in political parties are mainly being used for activities in the field during political campaigns. Personally, I believe that this impression is false and that, maybe, the problem is in not having a proper marketing for everything political youth is doing on its own.

G17 PLUS’ Youth Network is an equal partner to the seniors and there is a mutual understanding and support. Our Youth Network gathers enthusiastic young people who support the reforms of Serbian society in a way which allows Serbia to become a modern and developed country and that it can be a leader-country in the SEE.

How do we motivate young people in Serbia to be more involved in the political life of the country?

Marijana Djakovic: Every member of the youth, regardless of where they are from and what are they doing in life, has to realize that only an active individual can expect to live in a modern society. That’s why our Youth Network initiates and supports all the programs which are made to, firstly, inform and educate young people about the ways they can activate themselves within their own community and, also, we support all the projects which aim to level up the awareness of the youth about their own potentials and how to use these potentials. An important tool in political communication is developing a dialog between youth and seniors. Seniors must be ready to meet and correspond with young people, to learn how to listen to each other, to respect opinions and views and to tolerate all the possible differences and disagreements which may occur.

Does youth of G17 Plus cooperate with youth groups from other main stream parties and how?

Marijana Djakovic: When it comes to cooperation with other youth organizations, the closest cooperation is with the youth of Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), as we share the same ideology of the centre-right parties. Our Youth Network also cooperates with the youth of Democratic Party (DS) and with variety of nongovernmental organizations.

One of the results of the very close cooperation between Youth Network, other parties and NGOs was the initiative to create a Ministry of Youth and Sports. The very first meeting concerning this important issue for all young people in Serbia, was initiated and realized by the Youth Network of G17 PLUS. The result is: 2 months later, the Ministry was formed.

The Youth Network is also a full member of YEPP (Youth of European People’s Party) and, in a certain way, it’s in a position to be a part of the decision-making process on an European level.

What are the plans of the G17 + to change the involvement of youth in the future?

Marijana Djakovic: The process of changing the position of the youth through work of G17 PLUS has been going on for quite a while and the results are already visible. G17 PLUS Youth Network has elected 11 new members of the youth Presidency in October 2009. and every member of the Presidency has his/her own idea how to influence the positioning of the youth in Serbia through different strategies and programs. The basic plan is to make young people to take over the initiative in society. Our Youth Network is well aware of the problems within Serbian education system, so some of our activities will be oriented towards these issues. Unemployment of the youth is a serious matter and we believe that the ‘’First Chance’’ Program of National Employment Service gives excellent results. I am personally involved with the protection and promotion of human rights and my plan is to initiate the creation of special commission within our Youth Network which will offer its own strategy about inclusion of the young people in solving problems and decision-making.