Young people from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed their discontentment on the situation of the City of Mostar in the light of the fact that the local elections have not been held in the past 8 years.
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The intention of Mostar youth, gathered around this initiative was clear:
“We want to stop the agony and send a clear message:
we have the right to elect and be elected,
we have the right to a functional government,
we have a right to our city“.
With this action, the young people have shown that they are not passive and they want to express their opinion and attitude, and ultimately affect change.
On the day of local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 2 October 2016, an activity named “Elect Mostar” was held in the City of Mostar. Citizens of Mostar had the opportunity to “vote” in three city locations and by casting their “ballots” with the answers to the questions.
The activity “Elect Mostar” was organized by a group of associations of citizens active in Mostar city area and dealing with youth issues. Among them, the Local Democracy Agency Mostar, the Youth Council of the City of Mostar, the Youth Cultural Centre “Abrašević”, and the Association of Young Psychologists. The results of the campaign have shown that citizens are very dissatisfied with current state of the city of Mostar. The vast majority (89.35%) indicated that they would come out to the elections and vote, and even 95% of them believe that their human rights are threatened by the fact that the local elections have not been held. Nevertheless, 75% of respondents said that they still want to continue living in their city.
These results, as well as the positive reaction and public interest on this initiative were the impetus to young people from the Associations of Citizens to continue with this activity. Two new organizations joined the Group of non-governmental organizations who participated in this activity: Elsa Mostar and Youth Power. A Facebook page has also been created. It has been decided that each 2nd day of the month a new activity “Elect Mostar” will be organized addressing new questions, new answers and new suggestions from young citizens of Mostar. These activities are implemented within the Youth taking over day action, leaded by Local democracy Agency Mostar, as a part of the project “Balkan regional platform for youth participation and dialogue”, financed by EU.
Within the activity “Elect Mostar” organized on 2 November 2016, young people answered the question: “Do you see yourself in Mostar in ten years from now?” (with indication on the age and qualifications). They were able to answer on the question via online questionnaire published on 25 October 2016 on the official Facebook page, or filling out the printed questionnaire during the activity carried out from group of volunteers at the University Dzemal Bijedic and University of Mostar.
The questionnaire was completed by a total of 503 people, 43.9% of whom want to leave Mostar. The main fact is that 82.3% of respondents belong to the age limit from 15 to 35 years, and even 42.7% are young people with higher education and 39.40% with secondary education.
The initiative “Elect Mostar” came exclusively from young citizens of Mostar without any political and party influence, who want their voice and message to be heard and took into account. Therefore, this message should be sent to all those who are responsible for this situation in Mostar and which may affect its decision: The City Election Committee, The Central Election Committee, The City of Mostar, The Government of Herzegovina Neretva Canton, the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation, the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation, the Office of the High Representative, The Office of the Ombudsman, OSCE, the Delegation of the European Union, the Council of Europe, The Congress of Local and Regional Governments of the Council of Europe, the Peace Implementation Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
روابط مفيدة:
Website of the Local Democracy Agency Mostar
Young people from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed their discontentment on the situation of the City of Mostar in the light of the fact that the local elections have not been held in the past 8 years.
***
The intention of Mostar youth, gathered around this initiative was clear:
“We want to stop the agony and send a clear message:
we have the right to elect and be elected,
we have the right to a functional government,
we have a right to our city“.
With this action, the young people have shown that they are not passive and they want to express their opinion and attitude, and ultimately affect change.
On the day of local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 2 October 2016, an activity named “Elect Mostar” was held in the City of Mostar. Citizens of Mostar had the opportunity to “vote” in three city locations and by casting their “ballots” with the answers to the questions.
The activity “Elect Mostar” was organized by a group of associations of citizens active in Mostar city area and dealing with youth issues. Among them, the Local Democracy Agency Mostar, the Youth Council of the City of Mostar, the Youth Cultural Centre “Abrašević”, and the Association of Young Psychologists. The results of the campaign have shown that citizens are very dissatisfied with current state of the city of Mostar. The vast majority (89.35%) indicated that they would come out to the elections and vote, and even 95% of them believe that their human rights are threatened by the fact that the local elections have not been held. Nevertheless, 75% of respondents said that they still want to continue living in their city.
These results, as well as the positive reaction and public interest on this initiative were the impetus to young people from the Associations of Citizens to continue with this activity. Two new organizations joined the Group of non-governmental organizations who participated in this activity: Elsa Mostar and Youth Power. A Facebook page has also been created. It has been decided that each 2nd day of the month a new activity “Elect Mostar” will be organized addressing new questions, new answers and new suggestions from young citizens of Mostar. These activities are implemented within the Youth taking over day action, leaded by Local democracy Agency Mostar, as a part of the project “Balkan regional platform for youth participation and dialogue”, financed by EU.
Within the activity “Elect Mostar” organized on 2 November 2016, young people answered the question: “Do you see yourself in Mostar in ten years from now?” (with indication on the age and qualifications). They were able to answer on the question via online questionnaire published on 25 October 2016 on the official Facebook page, or filling out the printed questionnaire during the activity carried out from group of volunteers at the University Dzemal Bijedic and University of Mostar.
The questionnaire was completed by a total of 503 people, 43.9% of whom want to leave Mostar. The main fact is that 82.3% of respondents belong to the age limit from 15 to 35 years, and even 42.7% are young people with higher education and 39.40% with secondary education.
The initiative “Elect Mostar” came exclusively from young citizens of Mostar without any political and party influence, who want their voice and message to be heard and took into account. Therefore, this message should be sent to all those who are responsible for this situation in Mostar and which may affect its decision: The City Election Committee, The Central Election Committee, The City of Mostar, The Government of Herzegovina Neretva Canton, the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation, the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation, the Office of the High Representative, The Office of the Ombudsman, OSCE, the Delegation of the European Union, the Council of Europe, The Congress of Local and Regional Governments of the Council of Europe, the Peace Implementation Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
روابط مفيدة:
Website of the Local Democracy Agency Mostar