YouthBuild launched at two sites in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Youth Building Futures in the Brčko District and Youth Eco Leadership Corps

Submitted by jlangley on Tue, 07/12/2011 - 02:00

As young men during the fighting of the 1990s, Edin Mujacic and Jasmin Jasarevic fled their homes in the Brčko District of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Today, as leaders of local Bosnia-Herzegovina NGOs—Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) and PRONI Youth Center—Mujacic and Jasarevic have committed themselves to improving the lives of young people who are unemployed, discouraged, and distrustful of civic leaders.

 
In July 2011, 70 young women and men entered the “Youth Building Futures in the Brčko District” program through the combined efforts of Mujacic and Jasarevic, YouthBuild International, and USAID.  Youth Building Futures students will gain livelihood skills while working to improve their municipality through activities such as repairing public buildings and playgrounds, and helping vulnerable citizens in a region that is still recovering from war and ethnic strife. 
 
Later this year, CSD and PRONI, YouthBuild International, and USAID will launch a second project, the “Youth Eco Leadership Corps,” which will engage young adults in a network of eco-action teams focused on promoting environmental stewardship. 
 
Operating from a former army barrack that USAID helped rehabilitate into a municipal youth center, the programs will focus on hands-on skill development, and on cultivating young leaders who promote a vision of stability, productivity, and peace for all citizens of North East Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
 
Key Implementing Partners:  Center for Sustainable Development, PRONI Youth Center, Center for Energy Efficiency, Youth Information Agency
 
Strategic Partners:  USAID, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, German Marshall Fund/Balkan Trust for Democracy, local municipal governments.
 
Start Date:  2011
 
Impact:  Programs will engage a multiethnic group of 1,000 young people and create community assets in 28 municipalities.
 
Core program focus
  • Conflict mitigation among ethnic groups
  • Technical training especially for the green economy
  • Livelihood preparation in a low-growth economy
Design adaptations
  • Leadership development where civic and political structures have been damaged
  • Environmental stewardship
  • Students with the equivalent of high school diplomas and have attended college
  • Repairing public buildings and playgrounds, stabilizing riverbanks, building erosion controls, weatherizing homes
  • Helping vulnerable citizens