“Excellences,
Dear colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor and pleasure to address you on this panel session. I believe that having an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences today will help us to find a way to create good opportunities for our youth. We are living through some hard times of a great economic anxiety and there are thoughts that a global economy is at a turning point.

Growing unemployment especially among the young has been one of the worst consequences of the current economic crisis. Youth unemployment has risen to an unprecedented high level, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe.

• We support all IPU activities considering youth population and also meetings of young parliamentarians and organizing networking groups of young parliamentarians. We call on implementation of IPU resolution on youth participation in the democratic process.
• The world is facing a youth employment crisis: young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Youth unemployment confronts countries worldwide regardless of their stage of socio-economic development. The impact of globalization on youth is huge.
• Measures that are needed to ensure opportunities for youth include determined action from all walks of society. The role of parliamentarians is in ensuring opportunities for young people. Parliaments should establish national youth policies and pass laws that promote youth development, with specific focus on youth employment.
• The difficulties young people face in finding suitable employment are compounded by other problems including insufficient training and the difficult transition from school to the job market. Reform of education is needed in order to facilitate effective transition from education to work
• We must promote our dedication to treat young people as partners. Partnership between youth and adult is essential for brighter future of all.
• Influence of the global economic crisis on the Serbia is apparent and it further burdens social stability of the country. Economic potential of Serbia on the other hand is very high, but in order to realize its potential we need young and capable people, well educated and ready to contribute to the community.
• Our country needs strategy for future, concrete actions and solutions for solving problems including huge brain drain of Serbian youth to western countries.
• Serbia strategic goal is to encourage and stimulate all forms of youth employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship by raising awareness, improving the perspectives and promoting concept of youth entrepreneurship.
• Government of Serbia, together with the Parliament and other relevant institutions in Serbia are undertaking serious steps in order to boost youth employment. We cooperate with universities, helping and promoting best students, we have various educational programs and we have taken measures to insure that after studies abroad, our best students come back to their native country. Even in politics of Serbia we are going through changes and there is a new wave of young politicians taking the stage, playing important role in the Government and in the Parliament.
• One of our greatest global challenges − feeding the world − is also our greatest opportunity.
• With world population set to peak at over 9 billion in 2050 − and projections that food production
• will need to rise by 70 per cent − creating opportunities for young farmers and workers in rural areas is crucial.
• We need them to produce, process and market the food that will feed the world. We also need them to play their part – as entrepreneurs, service providers and wage earners – in the development and economic growth of their communities.
• And we need them to lend their weight and their will to the fight for good governance and social progress at all levels.

Dear colleagues,

Our task is clear. In order to make a brighter future for our successors, we need to create opportunities for our youth. Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. Let us create opportunities beyond anything we've ever known.

Honorable parliamentarians thank you for your attention."