At the beginning of 2019, Serbia began full participation in the European Commission’s Youth Wiki platform. Through the platform data on national youth structures, youth policies and youth-oriented activities are being collected.
The activities of the Youth Wiki are similar to those of the Eurydice Network where the focus is on education and training policies. Both Youth Wiki and Eurydice Network are coordinated by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for education and culture.
Currently, 29 countries participate in the Youth Wiki including Serbia. The platform offers the pages of the 34 systems based in 29 participating countries.
The main objective of the Youth Wiki is to support evidence-based European cooperation in the field of Youth especial in decision making, by providing information on state of play on reforms and initiatives. The collection of qualitative information also allows the exchange of information and innovative approaches and can substantiate peer learning activities. As such, it is a significant resource for decision makers, potential Erasmus + project applicants and all other actors active in the field of Youth.
The content is shaped by the policy priorities established by the European Commission and the Member States in the framework of the European cooperation in the youth field.
The eight main fields of action, identified in the EU Youth Strategy, are covered:
- education and training,
- employment and entrepreneurship,
- health and well-being,
- participation,
- voluntary activities,
- social inclusion,
- youth and the world, and
- creativity and culture.
The information within the identified fields is qualitative, divided into ten chapters, and updated annually. At the moment Serbia has first five chapters on the platform and the remaining five are planned to be published in the first half of 2021.
The documents of the official national top-level authorities in the youth field are the main source of information but different studies, surveys, analyses or assessments/evaluations conducted directly by public authorities or commissioned to research centres, experts, think-tanks and the like can also be used in presenting relevant data and analysis.
Comparative Overviews
The platform also provides interactive maps overviews to better illustrate the main policies and programmes for young people across Europe.
The maps are based on the information contained in countries’ pages and are followed by short comparative reviews on the main trends across participating countries.
For the moment, six topics listed below are covered by the interactive maps, but they will gradually be developed for all policy fields covered by the Youth Wiki.
Topics covered by the interactive maps: