The Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia issued a call for awarding grants under a public competition entitled “Support to Innovative Approaches for Increasing Youth Employment and Employability”. The public call was implemented under the programme “Education to Employability” (E2E), its implementation financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
The commission for the evaluation of project proposals, comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the E2E programme, financial sector and the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit, made a decision on the selection of the best candidates to be supported in implementing their project ideas.
The Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit hereby, on behalf of the Commission, congratulates the winners of the call, thanks all the candidates for their participation and encourages the remaining participants to keep following our activities.
The Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Đorđević, the Minister of Finance Dušan Vujović and the Manager of the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit Ivan Sekulović, together with civil society representatives gathered within the National Convention on the European Union, signed the Platform for Monitoring the Implementation of the Economic Reform Programme 2018-2020 (ERP) and the Employment and Social Reform Programme (ESRP) on 12 September 2017. This enabled the establishment of the model for cooperation between public institutions and the civil sector which would be used in the process of development and implementation of these strategic documents.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the National Bank of Serbia, the Public Policy Secretariat of the Republic of Serbia, line ministries, civil society organisations gathered within the National Convention on the European Union, the Delegation of the European Union in Belgrade, and the OECD.
More information can be found at www.minrzs.gov.rs
Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia and President of the Coordination Body for the Social Inclusion of Roma Zorana Mihajlović stated on 19 October that Roma inclusion in society is not only an issue for a single institution, but for the entire Government, the non-government sector, Roma associations and our European partners. Mihajlović, opening a seminar on the inclusion of Roma in our society, noted that we should all strive together to enable better conditions for the Roma community in the field of employment, education, healthcare and housing.
It is very important, she noted, to adopt strategic documents, such as the strategy and action plan for Roma and the Law on Housing, meeting international standards, but it is even more important to contribute to the better life of members of this community through specific activities.
The Head of the Negotiation Team for the accession of Serbia to the EU Tanja Miščević stated that the inclusion of the Roma community in the social life of the country is very important for the European integration of Serbia. This places us among modern, developed European countries. This is a large endeavour and I am grateful to Mihajlović for a job well done, because as a team we represent Serbia both in the negotiations, but even more in the reforms we are implementing, said Miščević.
In order to improve the status of young people and create more diverse opportunities for their employment and self-employment in Serbia, the German Organisation for International Cooperation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit, and the Government of the Republic of Serbia have been implementing projects for years.
During the “National Dialogue for Youth Employment – New Approaches, New Challenges” conference held in Madlenianum, the participants had the opportunity to discuss different topics such as effects of received training, vocational retraining and additional training for occupations which are in high demand on the labour market, effects of the support to the development of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, peer projects and initiatives, development of hubs and business incubators which provide a chance for young people to realise their business ideas, as well as system reforms, for example, introduction of elements of dual education into the education system.
Snežana Klašnja, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, presented the results which showed that mentioned projects and Government efforts had proven to be successful, for example, in 2013 youth unemployment rate in Serbia was 39.8%, and by 2016 it had dropped to 28.5%. “However, despite the 11% decrease, no one should be satisfied until the unemployment rate drops to a single digit number”, said Klašnja, and added that she hoped that future measures for reducing youth unemployment would be equally, if not more successful.
The International Conference “Investing in Children – Benefit for All Children”, with guests from 21 European countries, organised by the Network of Organisations for Children of Serbia (MODS), Eurochild, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia (SIPRU) and UNICEF, was officially opened on 12 October, in Deputy’s Club in Belgrade.
At the opening of the conference, where international experiences and examples of public budget allocations were presented with the aim of reducing poverty and social exclusion of children, the importance of aligning public financial resources with policies and legislation affecting children was highlighted.
The conference concluded that it is necessary to intensify the work on the implementation of the UN Objectives for Sustainable Development (where the fight against child poverty is at the forefront), improve the monitoring and evaluation of the financial allocations for children and families in Serbia (whereby international experience and methodology can be used), develop services in the community that will support families, especially families at risk of separation, as well as that services which will be available and financial support to families and children living in poverty require wider scope.
On 22 September, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development organised the “For the Wellbeing of our Children – Inclusion of Parents in the Education System” conference.
The aim of the conference was to promote a culture of appreciation, cooperation and partnership among the various actors involved in the education system, to highlight examples of good practice, to identify obstacles faced by parents from vulnerable groups and to point out the importance of involving all parents in the education system in order to contribute to the education of every child.
The conference is one of the activities within the “Inclusion of parents in the education system” programme which was initiated by the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia in order to strengthen the collaborative relationship between parents, teachers and local community, and therefore contribute to the development of democracy and fairness in the education system. Furthermore, the programme will support the activities implemented by the National Association of Parents and Teachers, as well as the future establishment and work of Municipal Parent Associations.
On 21 September, the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with the Coordination Body for Gender Equality of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and with the support of the Human Resources Management Service, organised a training for civil servants on gender equality and introduction of gender perspective into public policies.
The aim of the training was to improve the knowledge of civil servants regarding key international obligations and national legislative and institutional framework for achieving gender equality in the Republic of Serbia, as well as to provide a better understanding of the process of introducing gender perspectives into public policies and identifying gender aspects within the competence of public authorities.
The participants of the training had the opportunity to learn more about the importance and the manner of usage of gender-sensitive data, and to get acquainted with the Gender Equality Index, measuring instrument used by the European Union. The calculation of this Index in Serbia was initiated by the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Coordination Body for Gender Equality of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.
Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, in collaboration with the Coordination Body for Gender Equality of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), organised a training for journalists on gender sensitive reporting and affirmative media representation of vulnerable groups. The training took place on 20 September on Fruška Gora.
The aim of the training was to provide journalists with the information on the concepts of discrimination and violence against women, as well as to enable them, by analysing the examples of good and bad practice in reporting on women, Roma men, and women, and persons with disabilities, to learn how to recognise discriminatory and stereotypical reporting. The participants would, therefore, be able to give the members of vulnerable groups an affirmative representation in the media.
Strengthening the capacity of journalists for gender sensitive reporting, elimination of sexist representation of women, and sensationalism in cases of reporting on violence against women is envisaged by the Action Plan for Chapter 23, as well as by the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy for Gender Equality (2016-2018), therefore, this training was organised to enable a successful implementation of these documents.
Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the association “Serbia in Motion” organised the 39th Belgrade Ignite called “Get Involved No. 5” dedicated to social inclusion. The event was held on Tuesday, 24 October 2017 in the Impact Hub in Belgrade. For the fifth consecutive year, the organisers celebrated the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and encouraged visitors and participants to fight for an inclusive society.
The visitors of the Belgrade Ignite had the opportunity to hear presenters’ personal stories and how, with their everyday efforts, they are trying to build an equal society for all and find answers to questions such as: how does active aging prolong youth; how to develop skills of children without parental care; what does a day in the life of a LiceUlice magazine vendor look like; how do migrant children live and go to school; can girls be rock stars; is there freedom after serving a prison sentence; who are the people providing support to women with disabilities; which are the everyday problems faced by trans persons in Serbia; how to empower people with disabilities through programming; how did one young woman become a successful entrepreneur.
You can watch the videos containing the presentations of the 39th Belgrade Ignite on our YouTube channel.
Written by: Biljana Mladenović, Economic Analyst and Adviser to the Manager, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit
On this July day in Niš, the thermometers showed 39 degrees in the shade.
Written by: Milana Lazić