The Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the umbrella organization of youth recognized by the Law on Youth of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, brings together more than a hundred youth associations throughout the Federation, forming a unique platform dedicated to empowering youth and advocating for their equal position in society. Our work is based on the belief that young people are not only the bearers of the future, but also active participants in the present whose voice, knowledge and energy can shape the society we live in.

International Youth Day, August 12, is an opportunity to reflect globally on the real needs of young people: education, employment, mental health, cultural development, mobility, non-formal education and participation in decision-making. It is also a reminder that investing in youth is not a one-time act, but a process whose results are measured over years. However, the process can only be successful if it is strategic. While many countries created the first youth strategies in the last century, a strategy has not yet been adopted at the federal level in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The lack of a clear and measurable framework means that investments remain fragmented, without a long-term vision and coordination. An even greater challenge is that funds for youth are often administratively distributed and without publicly available performance indicators. Such an approach makes it difficult not only to analyze the current situation, but also to plan future steps.

For this reason, the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH launched the Transparent Budgeting for Youth initiative in the Federation of BiH, which aims to improve institutional mechanisms for supporting youth through more transparent, efficient and inclusive budget processes. The focus is on reforming the procedures for allocating funds from the Youth Transfer, as well as increasing the total amount of funds allocated for youth at the level of the Federation of BiH by at least 30%, or to 1,000.00 KM. This budget line represents one of the rare, specifically earmarked financial investments for the needs of youth and the youth sector at the level of the Federation of BiH. Its importance is reflected not only in the amount of funds, but also in its potential to support organizations that directly work to improve the status of youth in local communities.

Project activities include the formation of a multi-sectoral working group with representatives of the executive branch and the youth sector, the development of clear and publicly available criteria for the allocation of funds, the organization of meetings with various government institutions, and the provision of support for the implementation of the Thematic Session on Youth Issues of the Commission on Youth Issues of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH as one of the key mechanisms of institutional dialogue.

The implementation of the above activities will be further strengthened by the findings and recommendations from the Analysis of Institutional Investment in Youth in the Federation of BiH for the period 2022–2025, the public presentation of which is planned for the end of August 2025. This is a document that aims to

provide a systematic, reasoned and multidimensional insight into the way in which public funds have been directed towards youth in the previous three-year period, through all relevant budget items, with a special emphasis on the Youth Transfer.

On this International Youth Day, we want to clearly send a message that investing in youth is not a matter of goodwill, but of the seriousness of society and the task of all government institutions. Young people must not remain a statistical category in budget documents, because their voice, needs and potential require systemic support, based on transparency and accountability of public institutions. A strategic approach to young people means that we do not leave their future on hold, but make them movers today, not observers.

Without a clear foundation now, we will build on improvisation tomorrow, and improvisation can sustain the moment, but never build a lasting future.