#YouthAskingPoliticians
A live public dialogue between Montenegro’s youth and politicians is being organized by UNICEF Montenegro’s young reporters ahead of the parliamentary elections
- Crnogorski
- English
- Shqip
PODGORICA, 8 JUNE 2023 – On the morning of Friday 9 June, from 9:00 to 11:00 am, UNICEF Montenegro’s young reporters will organize a live public dialogue between Montenegro’s young people and representatives of all political lists running for parliamentary elections scheduled for 11 June. After an invitation was sent to them all, 14 out of the 15 political lists confirmed their participation in this event, and the majority of them have nominated the leaders of their political lists.
“As a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Montenegro has committed itself to guaranteeing every girl and boy the right to participation in all decisions which will affect their lives. At this event, two days before the elections, UNICEF is providing a platform for a constructive dialogue between all political lists and young people in Montenegro focused on key child rights issues'', UNICEF Montenegro Representative Juan Santander.
Our aim is to support Montenegro with a good practice example of young people’s political participation, as such engagement is their right and essential for the democratic development of any country.
At this event, young people will ask questions to political leaders on the topics that are relevant and urgent to them. The questions have been collated by the young reporters themselves from their peers and families all over Montenegro through their social media and in-person campaign.
Two UNICEF Montenegro young reporters, Lana Jovanovic and Djordje Ivanovic, together with the TVCG journalist Sasa Klikovac, will be moderating the event, which will be broadcast live by the public service TVCG 2.
Through young people’s political participation in this event, we want to ensure that our issues are addressed during the elections too. For this reason, we are calling upon all editors of media to support us by presenting news about child rights issues every day, including during the pre-election campaign.
Her colleague – UNICEF young reporter Hana Ljuca – has an appeal for all citizens who can vote on Sunday.
I am calling upon all voters, especially the young ones, to take into account what each political list proposes to do to resolve key child rights issues in this country when making decisions about who to vote for on Sunday.
According to the latest census, children aged up to 18 make up almost one quarter of Montenegro’s population. Together with their families, they make up the vast majority of Montenegro’s citizens. Numerous UNICEF analyses and reports on children in Montenegro in recent years point to urgent problems related to child poverty, violence, education and health:
- One in four Montenegrin citizens and one in three children are already living at risk of poverty. Children living in rural areas and in the north are worse off than their peers who live in urban areas and in the south of the country. Children growing up in poverty face deprivations in all areas, especially in housing, health, nutrition and education, which is essential for ending poverty. These children attend kindergarten, primary and secondary school to a much lesser extent than their peers.
- Two thirds of Montenegro’s children aged 1 to 14 years experienced some form of physical punishment and/or psychological aggression from adult household members in the last month.
- Two out of every three children in Montenegro attend elementary schools with insufficient infrastructure. On average there is only one computer to every 16 students in primary and secondary schools.
- Approximately 7,000 children are born each year in Montenegro and, despite recent efforts in some maternity wards, none of the maternity wards is fully baby- and mother-friendly, which is the recommended international standard for providing quality care for mothers and the best start in life for newborn babies.
The United Nations Children’s Fund, better known as UNICEF, was founded in 1946 and it is the world’s leading source of credible data and analysis on children, using evidence to advocate for children and for policies that improve their lives worldwide.
Since its foundation, UNICEF has been working with governments and communities in more than 190 countries and territories to support children worldwide to realize their rights and fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF’s work for children is recognized by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Representatives of political lists coming to the live public dialogue #YouthAskingPoliticians, as per the order on the ballot sheet:
1 “It’s Clear! – Bosniak Party – Ervin Ibrahimović”, Damir Gutić, Vice President of the Bosniak Party
3 “Justice Now – Vladimir Leposavic”, Vladimir Leposavić, Leader of the List
4 “SNP – DEMOS – For You”, Slađana Kaluđerović, member of the SNP (Socialist People’s Party) Presidency of Montenegro
5 “People’s Coalition – United and Full Stop” (Christian Democratic Movement, True Montenegro, Free Montenegro, Democratic Serb Party, Movement for Pljevlja), Dejan Vukšić, Leader of the List
6 “Albanian Alliance” Coalition (New Democratic Force, Democratic Party, Democratic League in Montenegro, Civic Group “Movement for Tuzi”), Genci Nimanbegu
7 “A Turnaround for a Safe Montenegro – Srđan Perić” – Srđan Perić, Leader of the List
8 “Movement for Changes – MONTENEGRO FIRST – Nebojša Medojević – Reforms to Save the Country”, Nebojša Medojević, Leader of the List
9 “Yes. We Can for Civil Montenegro – Dragica Perović Ivanović”, Dragica Perović Ivanović, Leader of the List
10 “TOGETHER! For a Future That Belongs to You – Danijel Živković” (DPS, SD, DUA, LP) – Danijel Živković, Leader of the List
11 “Europe Now” Movement – Vasilije Čarapić, Executive Director and member of the Presidency of the Europe Now Movement
12 “SDP – FOR OUR HOUSE”, Amina Cikotić, Spokeswoman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
13 “ALEKSA & DRITAN – Bravely Counts” (Democratic Montenegro and the URA Civic Movement) – Aleksa Bečić, Leader of the List
14 “For the Future of Montenegro” (New Serb Democracy, Democratic People’s Party of Montenegro, Workers’ Party), Jovana Todorović, Spokeswoman of the Democratic People’s Party
15 “Albanian Forum – Nik Gjeloshaj BESA for European Development”, (Albanian Alternative, Democratic Alliance of Albanians and National Union of Albanians), Nik Gjeloshaj, Leader of the List
