In response to numerous media inquiries regarding the “Youth Transfer” of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, we are hereby informing the public that in all budget planning requests the Ministry required this transfer to be increased compared to the previous year. We also emphasize that, for the first time in many years, the budget for this transfer has been doubled in 2025 compared to previous years.

At the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Government of the Federation has, for the first time in the recent history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unanimously adopted both the Youth Strategy and the Regulation on the Establishment of the Council for Youth, demonstrating a full understanding and support for all initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports concerning youth-related issues.

We are confident that the matter at hand represents solely a technical oversight that will be resolved in the shortest possible time.

We also underline our expectation that the Youth Council, as well as other organizations working on youth issues, will contribute to improving the position of young people, initiate amendments to the Law on Youth – discussions on which have been ongoing for three years without concrete progress from the Youth Council – and that the Council will significantly intensify efforts to engage young people in volunteering, activism, and other activities that will support the establishment of youth councils in all cantons, which has not been the case to date.

Only through joint efforts, commitment, and the fulfilment of our respective responsibilities can we achieve progress that brings real benefit to young people.

The Government of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports remain firmly committed to this path.

Sanja Vlaisavljević, Minister of Culture and Sports