In a bid to promote greater social and cultural cohesion among
Serbian youth, as well as to prevent further knowledge and skills
loss of the youth through regular and irregular migration, IOM has
begun a three-year capacity building project in 10 target
municipalities in close cooperation with the Ministry of Youth.

This 1.1 million Euro project funded by the Italian Foreign
Ministry will allow for the establishment of a network of regional
and local youth offices through which activities encouraging social
cohesion will be implemented. Such activities will include creative
workshops, drama, training to develop motivational and negotiation
skills as well as group discussions on social values, migration and
tolerance and respect between different cultures.

High rates of youth unemployment, in excess of 40 per cent in
2005, combined with limited possibilities to travel abroad have
resulted in Serbian youth seeking to migrate by all means. It is
estimated that some 500,000 young Serbian citizens have emigrated
from Serbia since the 1990s.

Because of poor economic and social conditions and limited
exposure to other cultures, those who stay behind have become
disillusioned about the future.

The project is implemented in support of the National Youth
Strategy and "will bring much needed attention to the cause and
effects of youth migration, an area which has been little
researched and addressed to date" according to Gregoire Goodstein,
IOM Chief of Mission in Belgrade.

For further information, please contact:

Lidija Markovic

IOM Belgrade

Tel: +381 11 240 42 28

E-mail: "mailto:lmarkovic@iom.int">lmarkovic@iom.int