Podgorica, (MINA) - Young people should promote dialogue and tolerance, said German Ambassador Peter Felten, adding that they are often an indispensable tool to get out the tunnel of deep-rooted animosity.

Felten said, speaking at the forum “Youth’s Promise for Peace”, organized by the Civic Alliance (GA), that the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda is of key importance for the Western Balkans as a whole.

He assessed that everyone’s task is to ensure that young people have a platform where their voice are heard, as well as that they are given the opportunity to realize their potential and influence the course of events in a meaningful way.

Felten added that these topics should be recognized as relevant when it comes to promoting and improving the entire region as well as each country in the Western Balkans.

Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Becic advised young people to learn from the past and the mistakes of earlier generations.

He said that young people should stand united, regardless of their differences, on the front lines of the fight against all forms of division, prejudice and generalization.

Becic said that 15 years ago, when breaking down deep-rooted prejudices begun, the situation on Montenegro’s political stage was not the same as it is today.

“Today, we have young people in decision-making positions. In the general, local and parliamentary elections scheduled for next year, 40 percent of the candidates on all councilor and MP lists will be women”, Becic pointed out.

Deputy Podgorica mayor Nadja Ljiljanic said that young people should be given space to actively participate in decision-making, shaping policies that concern not only them but also their future.

“Such initiatives are of key importance because they contribute to the creation of a platform for dialogue, exchange of ideas and concrete recommendations for the position of young people”, Ljiljanic added.

Head of Regional Office for Youth Cooperation (RYCO) in Montenegro, Edin Koljenovic, said that RYCO initiated the implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in all six countries of the Western Balkans, with the aim of systematically integrating this topic into public policies and social processes.

Koljenovic said that Montenegro, as the country presiding over the Berlin Process, has the opportunity and responsibility to further strengthen regional cooperation and its concrete results.

GA representative Danijela Darmanovic said that, although it is often said that young people are disinterested, it is clear that they actively shape social changes, influence values ​​and determine the direction of society’s development.

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