After the Youth Council of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina warned the domestic public a few days ago that the only federal budget line dedicated exclusively to youth and youth organizations – the Youth Transfer – had been removed from the Federation’s 2026 budget without any explanation, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports responded by stating that they believe this is solely a technical oversight that will be corrected as soon as possible.

The Ministry announced that in all financial requests submitted during the budget preparation process, they had requested a higher allocation for the “Youth Transfer” compared to the previous year, emphasizing that after many years, the budget for this transfer was doubled in 2025 compared to earlier periods.

However, the fact that the amount was doubled does not mean that it is anywhere near the level of funding that would result in positive change in this context. Rather, it means that for years, only a negligible amount has been allocated for young people. And now, instead of increasing the Youth Transfer from 600,000 to one million KM—as requested by the Youth Council for 2026—the Government has, due to a “technical oversight,” completely abolished this budget line.

According to the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH, since 2012 this Transfer has represented the only systemic framework through which young people were directly recognized in the federal budget.

“Over more than a decade of its existence, a total of 5.2 million KM has been allocated through the Youth Transfer, and in the period from 2018 to 2023 alone, 357 youth organizations and organizations working with young people were supported. This clearly shows that this was not merely a formal budget item, but a mechanism with real and measurable impact,” the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH stated, reminding the public that an analysis of overall budget allocations for youth in the Federation of BiH showed that less than 0.1% of the budget is allocated to young people annually.

We recall that, with the support of the PRAGG project, the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH advocates for transparent youth budgeting in the Federation of BiH, specifically for an increase in the amount allocated to the Youth Transfer within the Federation’s budget.

The Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports also used this situation to remind the public that, at the initiative of the Ministry, the Government of the Federation of BiH “for the first time in the recent history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unanimously adopted a Youth Strategy and a Regulation on the establishment of the Youth Council, and demonstrated significant understanding for all initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports related to youth issues.”

Instead of providing a clear explanation as to why the “Youth Transfer” was not included in the budget and outlining the steps that would be taken to correct the technical oversight, public communication focused on responding to criticism, which further diverted attention from the need for systemic solutions in youth policy.

Namely, the Ministry stated that it expects “the Youth Council, as well as other associations dealing with youth issues, to contribute to improving the position of young people, to activate amendments to the Law on Youth that have been discussed for three years without concrete progress by the Youth Council, and that the Youth Council will do much more to motivate young people to engage in volunteering, activism, and other activities that would contribute to the establishment of youth councils in all cantons, which has not been the case so far.”

“Only through joint efforts, dedication, and fulfilling the responsibilities assigned to us can we achieve progress that truly benefits young people,” the Federal Minister of Culture and Sports stated in the press release, adding that “the Government of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports are firmly committed to this path.”

They just happened to experience a “technical oversight.” One that we will soon see whether it will be corrected—or whether it will turn out to be “technically too difficult” to fix.