The European Commission held a three day conference on Youth and Sports Activities within People 2 People programme in Pristina on 1-3 June 2010. The conference brought together relevant European Commission representatives from Brussels, EC Liaison Office in Pristina, ETF, Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sports , Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education Science and Technology, NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) dealing with youth in Kosovo.

"It is not a coincidence that the topic of youth and sports activities is chosen for Kosovo. Youth is a major asset but also a challenge for Kosovo," said Kjartan Björnsson, Head of Operations in the EC Liaison Office who officially opened the conference.

The Youth and Sports activities event is the first of its kind organised in Kosovo. As it falls under the People 2 People programme, it targets mainly NGOs and CSOs, providing them a chance to familiarise themselves with the European Union institutions, decision-making process, legislation, key policies and programmes, but also giving them a chance to build networks with their counterparts in the region and in the EU. This event also aims at promoting Youth in Action – an EU funded programme that aims to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union's future. Special attention will also be given to education and training, unemployment issues and volunteering.

Kosovo has the youngest population in the region and its population is growing faster than any other in Europe. Around 32 percent of Kosovo’s estimated 2.2 million population is under the age of 15, with only 6.5 percent over 65 years of age. With a 47 percent unemployment rate and a very low employment rate (29 percent), Kosovo has the weakest employment track record in Europe. The unemployment rate is particularly high among young people, women and minorities, at over 60 percent for all these groups, with some variance depending on the data source and category.

Kosovo’s economy is highly burdened with high unemployment and mismatch between labour market demand and supply of the education and training system. The VET system in Kosovo does not adequately meet the needs of the market economy. The quality and provision of professional skills is low. The challenge for Kosovo is to create a flexible and skilled labour force which can compete in a global economy. Recently published reports on Kosovo, bring evidence that employers in Kosovo are not happy with the present state of education and training, putting emphasis on critical shortages of VET and post secondary VET graduates with trade and technical skills, and poor exposure to actual practice at all levels.

Lida Kita, ETF country manager for Kosovo, focused her interventions on the unemployment among the young generation in Kosovo and how education and training can be a crucial instrument for the development of youth's employability that will increase their chance of first entry and social inclusion. The Government of Kosovo is giving special attention to the strategic value of youth, as both a key challenge and opportunity for progress towards equity and social inclusion. Lida Kita emphasised the role of NGOs and CBOs in promoting social inclusion through education and training. Special attention is given to the strategic value of youth, as both a key challenge and opportunity for progress towards equity and social inclusion. More needs to be done in supporting the Kosovo NGOs and CBOs to take up diversified roles: from serving as a watchdog to participating at all stages of education and training, employment policy cycles, agenda setting, policy development, policy decision making process, policy implementation and monitoring & evaluation.

CONTACT PERSON
Lida Kita - Country Manager for Kosovo - European Training Foundation

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Youth and Sports Activities conference - Agenda