In this year’s report on the attitudes and needs of young people in Serbia, which will be officially published on the occasion of Youth Day (12 August), the KOMS organisation found that young people in Serbia have a more favourable attitude towards Macedonian and Montenegrin peers.
Young people were asked to choose on a scale of 1 to 4 how they feel towards members of different nationalities living in Serbia and the surrounding area – 1 meaning ‘we have always had close and friendly relations with them’, 2 – ‘equal citizens’, 3 – ‘they do not bother me, but I would not socialize with them’, and 4 – ‘I do not like them’.
The data show that young people have the most positive attitude towards Montenegrin (mean score 1.68) and Macedonian (mean score 1.75) nationalities and the most negative towards Albanian (mean score 2.52) nationality.
Gzim Murati from The Future Association in Bujanovac said the reason for that is past conflicts and policies that can sometimes be discriminatory.
“When it comes to politics, the media also plays a very important role and in most cases, they distort the messages and create unrealistic news or unreal attitudes about the Albanians living in the municipalities of Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa,” Murati said.
Murati also believes that a more inclusive state policy, continuous and systematic investments in youth development, and the establishment of a partnership between young people and the state, regardless of national and religious affiliation, are the ways to improve the current situation.
(Danas, 03.08.2022)
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