The Round 1 of the “EU Scheme for Young Professionals in BiH” officially ended with the Final Conference taking place in Sarajevo on September 28 and 29, 2021. Within the “EU Scheme for Young Professionals in BiH” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the British Council in BiH, 25 selected civil servants attended four-week executive training organised in cooperation with the partner institution College of Europe from Belgium, and participated in three-week exchange programs within BiH and the Western Balkans countries.
Thanks to the acquired knowledge and skills, they created public policies which were presented at the conference in areas such as securing human and material resources for more efficient fulfilment of obligations in the system for coordination of the EU integration process in BiH, reducing corruption in the public sector, and using digital tools to speed up the public administration processes.
The Head of Operation Section for Justice and Home Affairs and Public Administration Reform of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nicolas Bizel, emphasised that this Programme represents a continuation of EU’s reform initiatives in our country. “By strengthening its public administration in line with the European Union standards, Bosnia and Herzegovina has an opportunity to launch big processes towards more efficient and faster solutions to many current problems it currently faces. I am glad that a large number of young public servants recognised the significance of these changes”, Bizel underlined.
The British Council Project Director, Amila Lagumdžija, stated at today’s conference that young people from the public sector wish to strengthen the state administration system with their actions. “We must look at education of young civil servants as a platform for strengthening of the public sector. The public sector in BiH should be a tool at the service of citizens, as well as a place for adequate development and work of its employees”, Lagumdžija emphasised. Following the successful completion of the Round 1, the British Council is currently implementing the Round 2 of the EU Scheme, in order to provide training to as many young civil servants in BiH as possible.
The main goal of the project is to raise the awareness of young civil servants about the significance of development of the public sector in BiH. “We all acquired new knowledge and skills which we can apply in our everyday work, and I believe that this form of training makes us better prepared for the processes of BiH’s EU integration which are ahead of us”, notes Sonja Turić, participant of the Round 1.
A special quality of this program is the improvement of inter-institutional exchange, which greatly accelerates the development of public sector activities”, Haris Sijarić, one of the Round 1 participants, stated at today’s conference.
Conference participants and guests enjoyed the 12-minute presentations, and now you too can watch videos of each presentation by following the links below.
GROUP I: Involvement of interest groups in development of public policies in BiH in the process of EU accession
GROUP II: Ensuring adequate human and material capacities for efficient fulfilment of obligations in the system of coordination of the European integration process in BiH
GROUP III: Addressing corruption in public institutions in BiH through enhancement of anti-corruption mechanisms and awareness raising
GROUP IV: The use of digital tools for the purpose of improving the recruitment process in public administration in BiH
GROUP V: Introduction of e-government as a key precondition for digitalisation and management of public services in BiH