The Final Conference of the project “YOUth Drive – Program for raising awareness on proper waste management and empowering legislators for taking action” funded by the European Union was held in Široki Brijeg on Thursday, 30 October 2021.
The “Y O U t h D r i v e” project has achieved improvements related to proper waste management in the West Herzegovina Canton and the Bay of Kotor, as well as the accelerated development of legislative solutions that will be directly applicable in the communities.
The effect of this project is visible in the contribution to the development of the community, raising the awareness of citizens, especially young people in the cross-border areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro about the importance of proper waste management, and environmental protection. Preconditions have been created for the improvement and refinement of existing legislation in the field of environmental protection and waste management, and as an example of good practice, a number of illegal dumpsites have been removed, and electronic waste bins have been set up in all institutions. Utility companies were also supported through the donation of equipment, and very positive cooperation was achieved with all stakeholders. In addition to the above, cross-border agreements have been concluded, which provides the basis for the sustainability of the project.
The project analysed the condition of watercourses in the field in terms of waste disposal and protection of watercourses, as a prerequisite for future actions of a similar type. Over 4,000 young people were involved in the project, and thanks to the support of the European Union, schools received valuable IT equipment, which enabled the improvement and modernization of the school system and providing greater opportunities for implementation and realization of project ideas of young people.
Local communities in the cross-border area recognized the importance of the project and gave great support during the implementation of the project.
The project “Y O U t h d r i v e” raising environmental awareness, and initiating concrete actions in the West Herzegovina Canton and the Bay of Kotor was funded by the European Union in the amount of over 230,000 euros in grants. The project partners are non-governmental organizations, the Association for Development, Environment and Culture EKO ZH from Široki Brijeg and Naša akcija, based in Kotor.
Source: IPA II CBC Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro programme website