Improving Cultural Understanding in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Improving Cultural Understanding Programme is designed to improve cross-cultural understanding in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and promote the country’s unique multicultural identity.

In support of this overall objective, areas of focus will include the policy/legal framework in the cultural and educational sectors, community-based interventions to increase cross-cultural understanding, promotion of the Cultural Industry Sector, and promoting BiH’s unique multicultural identity. Using a participatory approach to guide interventions at policy and municipal levels, the joint programme intends to maximize the economic and social benefits of cultural development and make a contribution to the reconciliation process. The relevant Millennium Development Goals that are being targeted are MDG’s 1, 2, 3, and 8. The agencies involved in the programme are UNDP, UNICEF, and UNESCO.

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Securing Access to Water through Institutional Development and Infrastructure

To address the objectives of this thematic window within the context of BH, the joint program focuses on 3 levels of stakeholders: the rights holders (the citizenry), the service providers (utilities), and the duty-bearers (governments). The general problems in the area of water supply require a program addressing the issues of public participation in decision making, capacities, and monitoring and analyzing data at multiple levels.

The following 3 objectives are designed to achieve this necessary synergy: 1. to improve the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes; 2. to improve the economic governance of water utilities while sensitizing consumers to pay their bills; and 3. to increase the capacities of governments for evidence-based policy making and resource planning. The expected benefits will contribute to the achievement of BH UNDAF Outcome 2, “Improved access to and quality of basic education, health and social protection services”, and MDGs 1, 4,5,6 and 7.

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Mainstreaming environmental governance: linking local and national action in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The programme that is jointly implemented by FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO and UNV will address and overcome barriers to delivering environmental services and management at the local level in BiH. Interventions centre around providing capacity for developing Local Environmental Action Plans for 40 municipalities, providing seed funding for local service delivery priorities, raising the awareness and national level support for environmental action through an environmental innovation fund, and systems for capturing environmental data.

The programme will strengthen management of environmental resources and service delivery through improving local environmental governance and developing replicable models for local environmental planning. The knowledge generated will inform and support national planning and policy. This will help achieve MDGs 1, 6, 7 and 8 in BiH. Implementation will involve the participation of governments of all levels that have committed to provide co-financing.

BiH Youth Employability and Retention Programme

The employment situation for young people in Bosnia Herzegovina is challenging. The country is still marked by the residual tensions of war and the transition economy is below potential. Although employment prospects are becoming more favorable, the large number of employed youth is both a challenge and an unutilized resource for development.

The consequences of not addressing the issue include youth apathy or alternatively potential social unrest. The Youth Employability and Retention Programme aims to address high youth unemployment: the project will work closely with Government, the private sector and civil society to improve the employability of BiH youth while providing new entry points to the labor market. Internal and external migration support will be developed to optimize the potential of migration as an individual employment-seeking strategy which can alleviate local labor market pressures. Attention to gender and minority issues is integral to the project.