Jelena Ninković is a youth worker who lives and works in Han Pijesk. There she completed primary and secondary school, after which she entered the Faculty of Education in Bijeljina, graduated and earned the title of classroom teacher. Since 2021, she has been employed in the local administration of Han Pijesak as an independent professional associate for culture, education and youth issues.
In her private life, Jelena is a wife and mother of three children.
She believes that her formal education was of great importance for her career path: “My education was of great importance in the progress and development of my career, because given that I am qualified to work with young people, primarily children, I easily fit in and succeeded to adapt to young people in the area of Han Pijesak municipality, to adapt to their needs, goals and attitudes.”
Jelena expanded her knowledge and experience by attending Basic Training for Youth Officers. There she also met colleagues from all over the country who do the same or similar work, with whom she still maintains contact today.
” The basic training for youth workers meant a lot to me personally. Primarily, it helped me to establish and improve cooperation with young people from my local community, I gained new knowledge and skills that help me guide young people, to point out to them how important the policy itself is for young people and the inclusion of young people in decision-making, strategy development, implementation of projects and everything that is important for issues and a better position of young people. In addition, I gained sincere friendships, which are still alive today ,” says Jelena.
He says about the role of youth officers in small communities: “I consider the role of youth officers in small communities even more necessary than in developed ones, especially due to the fact that young people from small communities need additional help with development, progress and everything that causes them doubts . Realizing that there is someone in the municipal administration to whom young people can turn for help, questions, advice, I personally think that it is a big thing and progress towards empowering young people to start implementing various projects and ideas ,” says Jelena.
Considering that Han Pijesak is a small community that does not have a single registered youth organization, Jelena states that it is very challenging to work.
“We don’t have a single registered youth organization, no matter how much we as a local community tried to change that, we still haven’t succeeded in that field. However, we will not give up and I will personally continue to advocate for changing that, because it will open up new opportunities for the realization of projects. It is difficult for small municipalities like Han Pijesak to work in this field, there are very few young people, and only 36 students attend high school. It is precisely for this reason that the municipality aims in the following period to motivate, affirm and encourage young people to work and to provide them with everything they need, including more cultural content adapted to their needs, more events, greater opportunities for employment , larger grants, funds and support. We hope that in this way young people will see a perspective, a brighter future and the possibility of progress. This would be of great importance for all those young people who decide to stay, work and raise families in their hometown ,” says Jelena.
Although she believes that it is difficult to make any kind of progress in small local communities like Han Pijesak, Jelena still sees a perspective and does not give up. He believes that maintaining the already existing mechanisms for supporting young people is a success, and what is important to highlight is that the Municipality of Han Pijesak awards scholarships to all students from the area of the municipality, as well as to all high school students.
” I want to emphasize that this is the result of our cooperation and work for the betterment of young people and their position. Scholarships are in the monthly amount of 100 KM for each student and pupil, and in addition, about 35,000 KM is allocated every year to support the development of sports, which is also the domain of youth issues. In addition , every project that young people apply for, we try to support in order to help young people and their development ,” she says.
When it comes to future plans, the municipality aims to continue to motivate young people and encourage them to work in order to provide them with what they think they need. In the near future, the plan is to provide housing for young married couples, as well as financial support for students who decide to study for some professions that are in short supply.
“I would tell young people to live life to the fullest, primarily to be who they are – young people. That they fight for their rights, status, progress, that they are not afraid to move forward, that they are the ones who will be the decision-making factor in their municipality and country, that they do not leave their native regions, that they stay there, live, create families because only that way they can progress and their voice can be heard… It is important that they are persistent, they do not give up and success will come, guaranteed . And we youth officers will always be there for them and for them!” Jelena concludes.
The Institute for Youth Development KULT plans, organizes and implements training programs for youth officers and certification of officers who work with young people in city, municipal and cantonal authorities. The training program consists of basic and advanced training. The basic training program qualifies the participant to perform the duties of an expert in the state service for work with youth and is attended by persons who meet the criteria for applying for a public invitation according to the Rulebook on training procedures and certification of youth officials of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports. Advanced training is attended by persons who have a certificate of the basic training program for the purpose of improvement and further training. The basic training program for an official lasts 120 working hours, divided into modules.
Source: mladi.org
