On 29 April, representatives from the Ministry of Sports and Youth, local governments, and local youth services gathered in Podgorica for the introductory capacity-building training titled "Networking and Cooperation of the Youth Sector at the Local Level." The event was organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and Youth.
Opening the event, Giovanni Gabassi, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, emphasized that the goal of these capacity-building trainings is to foster a shared understanding of youth policies among different stakeholders and improve the inclusion of youth in their everyday work. “Networking and cooperation between youth and those who work with and for them is essential for achieving meaningful youth participation in decision-making processes, both at the national and local levels,” Gabassi noted.
Darko Stojanović, Director of the Directorate for Youth and Cooperation with NGOs at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, highlighted the importance of the training, aimed at strengthening local structures for involving young people in social processes. He reaffirmed the Ministry's commitment to supporting initiatives that empower young people and amplify their voices in the community, expressing hope that the meeting would lead to new partnerships and positive local changes.
During the interactive sessions, 40 participants from 23 municipalities explored ways to enhance cooperation between national and local youth policy actors, identifying opportunities for joint action. They also discussed key challenges in communication with various stakeholders and identified capacity gaps that need to be addressed to support effective youth participation in local communities.
The inputs gathered will be used to design a three-day capacity-building training scheduled for June. During this next phase, youth policy actors will build long-term partnerships with each other and engage young people in processes that concern them, such as the drafting and implementation of local youth action plans.