The first meeting of the Children and Youth Committee was held as part of the project “Connecting the Dots – Advancing Children’s Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, funded by the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina and implemented by the World Vision BH Foundation in partnership with the Association “Naša djeca” Sarajevo.
The Committee is composed of children and young people aged 12 to 25, representing both formal and informal groups from 20 cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The initial gathering focused on introductions, networking, and jointly shaping the Committee’s future tasks.
Some of the planned activities include quarterly meetings with decision-makers at all levels of government and meetings with members of the Council for Children of BiH, where findings from ongoing research on the least respected rights of children and youth—currently being conducted within their local communities—will be presented. The Committee will also implement two joint advocacy initiatives and participate in a series of training sessions aimed at strengthening the capacities of its members on topics related to the protection and promotion of children’s rights.
“The establishment and operationalization of the Children and Youth Committee represents a systemic step forward in addressing the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the lack of children’s voices and opinions in matters and decisions that concern them,” emphasized Nela Hukić, Project Manager.
