During 2023, two REAWG on Rural Youth were held, the first one was organized on 31 March, Ohrid, North Macedonia and the second one on June 7 in Banja Koviljača, Serbia. The meetings aimed to present National Reports and to summarize results from the online surveys conducted during February-May which will serve for the development of Rural Youth Study.
The survey was conducted with rural youth from the entire WBs, resulting in 2158 survey respondents. As an outcome, the Study on the Situation and the Needs of Rural Youth in the Western Balkan Countries/Territories is expected to provide insights into possible solutions for more informed decision-making at the policy level. A critical outcome of the study will be to identify ways and provide policy recommendations to encourage young people to stay in or return to rural areas and support youth to become more visible as agents of change in the agri-food systems as well as enable them and enhance their contribution to rural development in the WB.
This study is part of an ongoing research project “Study on the Situation and the Needs of Rural Youth in the Western Balkan Countries/Territories”, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, and the Regional Rural Development Standing Working Group in SEE (SWG) and implemented by SWG.
The final report including national reports per country/territory, as well as a cross–country regional report is prepared for the year 2023.
