The month of February arrived, and it was time for the YOUMIG project team to think of the most appropriate way to present the results of the work carried out within the project in the previous year. In order to best engage both decision makers and the public, two slightly different audiences, we came to the conclusion that it would be most efficient to organise an event on two separate occasions. Therefore, the team decided to hold a closed presentation for the local decision makers a week before an open event was held for the public. Both events were moderated and hosted by Dragana Lukić- Bošnjak, Laslo Vigi and Erik Palušek, all part of the YOUMIG team.

The events were held on March 2 and 9, 2018. Representatives from YOUMIG partner institutions from Belgrade attended the closed event. 

On both occasions the general opinion after the presentation of the Local Status Quo Analysis, a case study completed for Kanjiža by the end of the project’s first year, was that most participants present were aware of the reasons described in the document as to why young people were leaving the municipality. These reasons are mainly the lack of opportunities and perspectives for young people.

Vesna Lukić, a researcher at the YOUMIG partner Institute for Social Sciences (ISS), said that the municipality of Kanjiža is by no means different from other Serbian settlements of a similar size and level of development. The important thing that separates the municipality of Kanjiža from others is that 80 percent of its population is Hungarian, and this perhaps gives the administrative ease to leave, due to the possibility of obtaining a dual Serbian/Hungarian citizenship, which makes it easier to move within certain countries (Hungary and in the EU).

There was a discussion at the decision-makers’ event concerning the economic development of the municipality which is impeded by badly conducted privatisations in the first decade of the Millenium. “The biggest factories, those that employed a huge percent of the local population were sold, and many were left unemployed. Some of them at an age when no one would hire them.”- said Miloš Kravić, the president of the Municipal Assembly. He also commented on the attitudes toward work of the young generations. He stressed that the new generations are not as prepared for hard work as the previous ones, nor as interested, because they think that they are entitled to most things. Obviously, some things hadn’t changed since the Ancient Times. Or as Socrates put it: ‘The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.’ However, maybe the older generations are not acquainted with the opportunities and needs of the Y and Z generations, or that of the Millennials’ for that matter,” he added.

There was common consent at both events that it is necessary to try alternative things in order to enable young people to find employment or start a business.

However, when the pilot idea was presented, there were some concerns that the planned establishment of a co-working space would not be used because it does not offer extra services apart from a physical space to conduct business, and Wi-Fi. The general opinion of the decision makers is that such endeavours can be useful in big cities, but that Kanjiža does not have a sufficient number of entrepreneurs (to be) who would need such kind of service.

The public, on the other hand, was more open to the idea. Concerning the other aspect of the pilot action - the Serbian language courses for youth and entrepreneurs - the comments were twofold: The decision makers expressed concern that courses would not be sought after, and that the young would rather learn German and try their luck abroad than to learn the official language in a country which offers them no perspective. However, the public, especially young people looking for employment, said that they found learning Serbian crucial, and that in their opinion, there would be demand for it.

The idea of reviving the Youth cooperative as the back office for YOUMIG’s local One Stop Shop (OSS) service and making it a strong link between the employers and young job seekers was commended. The OSS is essentially a 12-month effort to develop access to administrative services related to migration for youth at the municipalities in the YOUMIG partnership. Though the idea was well received, there was fear of doubling the work of the National Employment Agency. In response it was explained that according to the Local Status Quo Analysis the youth do not perceive the local NEA branch as helpful and efficient, and that they do not have confidence that the office can help them to find employment. One of YOUMIG’s activities will be to promote student work among high-schoolers, in order for them to see what work involves, but also how it feels to earn money with their own effort. This will be enabled as soon as a planned employer/jobseeker database comes to life and will be supported with a strong promotional campaign among the target audience – the youth of Kanjiža and their parents.

As the local study also suggests, feelings of strong local patriotism prevail in all the people who chose to stay in the municipality, as in those who came back from abroad. Kanjiža is a small town with fantastic potential concerning its resources. It is the people who make it great. If this project does lead to keeping them at home, it will be the wisest investment the municipality has ever made.

Text and photos by YOUMIG Kanjiža