by Elizabeth Siebenmann, UNV Programme Officer, Bosnia and Herzegovina

20 April 2011

Bihać and Prijedor, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Last month UNV Field Unit Bosnia and Herzegovina was excited to participate in the official opening of the Youth Employment & Information Centres – or CISOs – in Bihać and Prijedor, located in the northwest of the country. The opening of the first of 15 CISO centres marks an exciting new chapter in supporting young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina to overcome high rates of unemployment and secure the first step to better futures.

The creation of these CISOs centres is only one aspect of the 2010 - 2012 Spanish Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Achievement Fund Youth Employability + Retention (MDG-F YERP) programme which aims to address the problem of high levels of youth unemployment and irregular migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina. UNV is proud to be one of five implementing UN agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, UNV, IOM and UNFPA).

Through the funding provided by the Spanish MDG Achievement Fund and the UNV Special Voluntary Fund, UNV - and volunteering - is playing an integral role in the operation of these CISO centres.  19 national UN Volunteers have or will be trained to work in these CISO centres and provide a range of employment counseling, training and advice to young people across the country. In addition, the programme will focus on developing a practical work experience scheme – volunteer or paid - to enable young people to gain the practical experience to secure paid employment.

The MDG-F YERP programme also provides UNV with a country-wide platform to promote and celebrate the contributions that volunteers have made, and continue to make, to development processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 19 national UN Volunteers will serve as ambassadors of volunteerism engaged in: a range of community outreach activities to promote volunteering; building relationships with local volunteer-involving organizations; and collecting and sharing volunteer stories over the course of the next two years.