#genderingBiHelections2018

On October 7, youth will hold the fate of the country in their hands, said presidential candidate Jerko Ivanović Lijanović, from Narodna stranka Radom za boljitak during Coffee Time with youth from various parts of BiH.

Lijanović encouraged youth to take advantage of their right to vote, take up a pen as their only weapon and put it to good use.

The Institute for Youth Development, in order to help youth understand the BiH presidential election process, held a series of youth encounters with presidential candidates.

During this event, youth asked the candidate about measures that can be taken to fight corruption, they wanted to know about the economic plans for the country, and mechanisms that could prevent youth from leaving the country.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina there are 700,000 youth, defined by law as persons between 15 and 30 years of age. They majority of youth are part of the electorate, and the Institute for Youth Development KULT wants to give them a chance to make an informed decision. We believe that youth should and must be included in the programs of political parties in BiH and it’s high time for the top level of government to prioritize youth in their discourse.

On the other hand, this will allow elected officials to tailor their election programs to actual needs of BiH youth who elected them. 

The Institute for Youth (hereinafter: Institute) is issuing a Public Call for Empowering Young Women in Politics. The Institute will select the participants of a 5-day training focusing on the following topics: public speaking, advocacy and lobbying, human rights and gender equality, and will participate in launching and conducting events in celebration of Orange Day, a day dedicated to fighting violence against women.

The training will be held from June 18 to June 22, 2018 at the Educational-Leisure Center for Youth SPAJALICA in Sarajevo.

 Application criteria

• Applicants are aged 18-30
• Applicants are residents of BiH
• Applicants are party members or independent candidates who intendt to run in the 208 general election

What can you expect from the training?

During the 5-day training, the participants will learn and acquire skills that will help them respond to the following questions:

• How to present your ideas to an audience
• How to advocate for your ideas in politics and in public
• Why is gender equality important in the context of human rights
• How to network with women in politics from all parts of BiH

During the initiative, all participants will be required to take part in celebrating Orange Day.

Application

Deadline:

The Call is open by Thursday, May 31, 2018, 5 pm.

Submit applications:

• Exclusively through an online form that can be found here.

If you have any questions, write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (Predmet/subject: Upit, 18.01.0-N2.1-15) or call +387 33 778 765.

Incomplete applications and applications submitted after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.

The complete Call is available here.

More information about the Institute for Youth Development KULT can be found on our website www.mladi.org.

Public speaking, advocacy and lobbying, human rights and gender equality were the topics of a five-day training for empowering young women in politics, held by the Institute for Youth Development KULT. The training was attended by 16 participants from various parts of BiH, young women under 30, who intend to actively participate in politics in order to improve the position of women in the society, or are already members of political parties in BiH.

The majority of the participants will be on the ballot during this year's election, and they stated that their programs will focus on protecting the rights and improving the participation of women in politics.

«There are not enough women in BiH politics, and this could be the key to improving the current situation in the country. It would help improve the position of women, and help implement more ideas coming from youth.» - said Ivana Majstorović, a participant from Vlasenica.

The participants will engage in activism and advocacy aimed at improving women's access to their rights during the next 5 months, by marking the 25th day of every month, Orange Day, a day for combating violence against women and girls. They will organize various activities in their communities, intended to highlight the problem posed by violence against women and girls in the BiH society.

The training for empowering young women in politics was held from June 18 to 22, 2018 in Sarajevo, as one of the activities in the initiative #genderingBiHelections2018, supported by the US Embassy in BiH.

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