Key Findings

Selected key findings should provide more understanding of the social and political context in which the WB youth resides, as well as the most important insights important for understanding the potentials and limitations of youth participation in the region.

1. Across the WB6, there is no one common perception among youth of either the EU in general or the EU accession process. The differences in perception range from more positive in Albania and Kosovo* to more negative in Serbia on the other end.

2. A strong migration drive is one of the most outstanding commonalities of entire WB region, and a large number of young people are thinking about leaving to other countries outside the region, primarily because of unsatisfying socio-economic conditions.

3. Regulatory framework for youth (participation) is not fully developed in all WB societies. However, where majority of laws and regulations are in place, there is an evident lack of an enabling environment, either because of inadequate or insufficient implementation, or because the existent legal framework is not encouraging youth participation.

4. General understanding of participation among interviewed youth activists includes a range of different perceptions: both as a formal and informal activity, done through formal or informal channels. Participation is also closely connected to activism itself, here defined as taking a public stand and engaging in an activity to tackle a publicly important issue.

5. The level of trust in public institutions is significantly low, while they are perceived as not serving their purpose or even more as corrupted. This mistrust comes hand-in-hand with a generally low trust in the political elites, although somewhat less in Kosovo* as compared with the rest of the region.

6. Low level of trust in the institutions and the elites makes informal participation tools and mechanisms more attractive. These mechanisms and tools have a more powerful democratic potential, bear more energy, and allow for more creativity, but sometimes are less efficient and less credible in the formal systems where decisions are made.

7. Internet communication and E-participation are perceived both as quick and inclusive tools on one hand, but there is a widely present awareness about its negative aspects among the FG participants on the other.

8. The COVID-19 crisis, as well as any other potential crisis, is seen as both an opportunity and a threat. In other words, in the Western Balkan context, the pandemic is perceived as something that can bring the best out of young people – solidarity, motivation and creativity, and the worst out of autocratic, populist regimes.

9. Most of the respondents expressed recognition of the core democratic values associated with the EU integration process, including human and minority rights, gender balance, equality, tolerance, inclusiveness and critical thinking (acquired through education).