OSCE-supported third youth and security summer school concludes in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 26 May 2017 – The third Youth and Security Summer School, organized by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, concluded on 26 May in Konjic. The aim of the Summer School, which gathered 25 law, political and security studies students from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), is to educate youth about security policy, security sector reform and good governance in the security sector.

During a five-day programme, students attended lectures by prominent experts and visited the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, the Armed Forces of BiH, police and security agencies and media outlets. Students come from universities in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Bihac, Tuzla and Zenica and the American University in Sarajevo.

William Langan, Head of Security and Co-operation Unit at the OSCE Mission emphasized that the Summer School is an opportunity to enhance the knowledge and capacity of future security professionals. “The school will allow students to explore the current security policy challenges facing BiH and learn more about the many elements that make up security policy, such as foreign policy, defence policy, intelligence, internal security and education.”

Slaven Rosic, Head of the Department for European Integration at the Interior Ministry of Republika Srpska and member of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group for Monitoring the Implementation of BiH Security Policy placed emphasis on the importance of education and involvement of young people in the security sector. “Implementation of security policy requires full engagement of all institutions and sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will ensure that all aspects of state security are taken into consideration in a comprehensive manner. This includes young people as well and this school is an opportunity for them to actively participate in discussions on a wide range of security-related issues.”

“The Summer School offered students content which is not covered in the course of our studies and enabled us to get acquainted with the work of security institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a valuable experience and I believe that the knowledge we gained will help us in our future careers,” said Fatima Butkovic, student of the Law School in Tuzla.

The Youth and Security School is organized in co-operation with the BiH Council of Ministers’ Inter-Ministerial Working Group for Monitoring the Implementation of BiH Security Policy.