At the sitting held on 8 April, the Youth and Sports Committee members considered the Information on the Ministry of Youth and Sport 2009 Activities and the Ministry of Youth and Sport 2010 Work and Activities Plan.

The Information on the activities and the Work and Activity Plan were presented by representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Ivana Kovacevic, State Secretary of Youth, stressed that in 2009 the Ministry’s youth sector drafted an Action Plan for the implementation of a youth strategy, adopted by the Government in January, 51 youth offices were open in Serbia which completed an education of local coordinators, and local youth action plans were adopted in 45 Serbian municipalities. The Ministry endorsed over 100 projects by non-governmental organisations i.e. youth organisations and organisations dealing with the youth which have gathered about 70 000 young people, the Young Talent Fund implemented three competitions for high-school pupils, university seniors and for continued studies in EU countries for over 3000 young people. A career advice center had been open at the Fund, and a contract was signed with the National Employment Office. In the first trimester of 2010, 1000 scholarships have been awarded, a Career Advice Strategy has been adopted, a Youth Portal is to be activated, a competition has been called for high-school pupils who have won awards in 2009, as well as competitions for youth offices, and 10 projects have been awarded to youth organisations.

Presenting the 2009 work results in the sphere of sport to the Committee members, Slavisa Zlatanovic, State Secretary of Sport pointed out that the Ministry worked on financing sporting alliances and funding top sportsmen. A Council was created and an Action plan for the prevention of violence in sports was adopted. A new draft law on sport is also currently being drawn up. Contracts were signed on sports scholarships, as well as funding sports camps, the payment of which is regular, and over 50 projects were realised in the sphere of sports infrastructure. The Ministry has launched the preparation of software for the registration of sporting facilities in Serbia, and the creation of a Fund for the financing of sports clubs has been launched.

In the exchange of opinions on the Information on the Ministry’s activities, the Committee members wanted to know about the cooperation between the Ministry and local young talent funds, what the requisites for the election of coordinators in the youth offices were and whether the specific-purpose funds allocated in the budget for the construction of a sports field for disabled sportsmen in the Jablanica district would be realised. In addition, they exchanged opinions on the participation of Committee members in the preparation process of the draft law on sports, as well as the Ministry’s cooperation with the diaspora in the sphere of sport.

In the continuation, the State Secretaries presented the Ministry of Youth and Sport 2010 Work and Activities Plan to the Committee. The youth sector would follow the Youth Strategy and Action Plan. Youth offices and youth organisations shall still be supported, as well as the Youth Talent Fund, and in the sphere of international cooperation Serbia shall host the summer academy organised by the Council of Europe. They shall work on the organisation of the Career Advice Strategy, as well as passing a law on the youth. For the process, the Ministry invited the Committee to nominate a member for the task group that would work on the text of the law. The sports sector’s priorities in 2010 would be passing a law on sport, financing sporting alliances and various sporting competitions, payment of scholarships, national recognitions and awards for the medal winners, as well as the construction of sport centres in Serbia.

In the discussion on the competent Ministry’s Work and Activity Plan, the Committee members were interested in the participation in the task group for the drafting of the laws on youth and sports, participation in the organisational committees for the sporting events that would be held in Serbia in 2010, funds for the realisation of infrastructural projects in sport, as well as the participation of the competent Ministry in the resolution of the problems of Red Star Basketball Club.

By the end of the sitting, the Committee members had completed a talk on the organisation of a football tournament for the National Assembly’s deputy groups, participation in the Conference on the Youth’s European Perspective organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sport and holding one of the upcoming Committee sittings in Leskovac.

The sitting was chaired by the committee Chairman, Milan Vuckovic.