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Session 2: Our Own Migration Crisis: People are Leaving and What Can be Done About It (In partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy)

Session 2: Our Own Migration Crisis: People are Leaving and What Can be Done About It (In partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy)

  • What should be our approach here? Should we focus on keeping the young people in our countries. or creating the opportunities for their development in the developed countries and subsequent return?
  • What are the spill over effects of the migrations inside the EU?
  • We have a huge outflow of craftsmen and skilled workers. What are the affects on our economies?
  • Can we benefit from the emigration? Is there a positive side of this trend?
  • What does the 21st century has to say about the emigration? What about the circularity of the migrations?

 

Youth emigration is one the most important, if not the single most important problem in Serbia, as well as in other countries in the Western Balkan region. This problem is much deeper than the public perceives it. Almost every person in Serbia has been touched by the reality of having a close friend or a family member immigrated to another country pursuing happiness and a “better life”.

What can we do about it? Can we stop this trend? Is it possible to change the minds of young people across Western Balkan, if we know that more than 80% of young people, in average, is thinking about leaving their country? Policy makers are aware of the problem, but it seems that their efforts are non-effective.

This panel will go through all these questions, and will try to offer some recommendations on how to address the issue. We will have exclusive presentation of the research on the Cost of Youth Emigration in four countries of the region. Also, the panel will present some of the initiatives started in Serbia, as well as good practices from around the Europe.