„The 8 (un)Solvables“ is the project focused on 8 biggest issues related to youth in the city of Bijeljina (Republic of Srpska). Those are the problems of:

  • unemployment ;
  • inadequate education system ;
  • insufficient mention of youth issues in political programs ;
  • insufficient number of youth representatives on decision-making positions ;
  • inter-ethnic and inter-religious intolerance between youngsters ;
  • underage delinquency ;
  • addiction diseases ;
  • sexual and reproductive health.

Project included 8 street actions in the city center of Bijeljina. Street actions consisted of leaflet distribution, photography exhibitions, sketches and discussions with public. There were also 8 radio shows broadcasted on student radio with guests from professional fields who possess certain knowledge and experience from the areas listed in the project as (un)solved youth problems.

„We were quite pleased with the reaction of the public. The members of Youth Group managed to develop the interaction with the public in the city center through distributing leaflets, discussing the causes and consequences of certain issue, but as well as their possible solutions.“, says Maja Pavic, coordinator of the Youth Group of Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republic of Srpska.

During the implementation of the project, the members of the Youth group have noticed that the youngsters in Bijeljina are pretty aware of the listed problems, and are also very interested in their resolution. However, they are highly de-motivated by the inactivity of the current local authorities, who naturally, have the key role in their resolvement.

According to the words of young Ms. Pavic „without the support of their authorities, youth is afraid to take the initiative“, and that is also one of the issues which is Youth Group trying to change. They are trying to awake the desire and strength in the heads of young people, to fight for their rights and better position in the society. 

The Group has submitted request to authorities of the city of Bijeljina with the recommendations for the resolution of problems, based on their assessment during the project. The results of the assessment were presented to public through street actions, radio shows, media, so the initiative was also supported by great number of citizens.

Next project of the Youth Group will be a continuation of the project „The 8 (un)Solvables“, covering particularly inter-ethnic and inter-religious intolerance amongst youngsters. In this way, they will make their contribution to inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue amongst young people in Bijeljina, who come from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. „This will hopefully, bring trust and tolerance among them.“, hopes Maja.