“Well, if it can be thought, it can be done, a problem can be overcome.”
E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly
Here are some sobering statistics: according to the World Bank, in 2012, unemployment among the youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a whopping 62%! As you can imagine, this leaves many of the young people in this country, located on the Balkan Peninsula, wondering about their futures and longing to find meaningful solutions.
Youth Essay Contest Focuses on Solutions to High Unemployment
To help get their heads around the overwhelming issue of high youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina and find workable solutions, the World Bank and the IFC recently sponsored a youth essay contest, which was supported by the “Let’s Work” global partnership. Contestants were asked to share the challenges they faced with unemployment and possible solutions to this major social problem.
The six contest winners, all soon-to-be or recent college graduates in their early- to mid-twenties, echoed the same themes in their enlightening and thought-provoking essays. In a nutshell, they agreed that their university education did not provide them with practical experience or on-the-job training. So, when they graduated, they knew from the get-go they’d have a heck of a time finding jobs in their fields, or in any field.
Youth Share Their Solutions to High Unemployment
The essay winners came up with many solutions to unemployment, including forming public and private partnerships to support businesses, the government offering fiscal incentives to companies when they hire young people, and finally, relaxing hiring conditions for employers altogether.
They also said that youth should have access to advisory services on how to prepare for the working world before they graduate from college, and on how to get a job after they graduate. One young student said it’s really sad that most college students in their country don’t even know how to write a proper CV and apply for a job!
The young people encouraged the government to foster an environment that encourages youth to take risks to learn and grow. Then they can ultimately start their own businesses if they desire and seize economic opportunities as they arise.
Finally, the essay winners’ message to the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina was to focus on education and take every opportunity to volunteer while still in college, to gain practical experience.
How Empowr.com Can Make a Difference in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The good news is that empowr.com, the world’s first democratic social media e-commerce platform that focuses on helping solve worldwide problems, can offer real-world answers to the dilemma of youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Here are some ways empowr can help:
1. As users of empowr.com, the youth can sell their services to other empowr.com users by writing about their areas of expertise while posting photos and videos to supplement their thoughts and wisdom. This democratic process enables them to share their knowledge and cash out their earnings, so they are always compensated fairly for their expertise.
For example, a young person with a degree in accounting can offer freelance accounting services to other empowr.com users, and be paid for his expertise. Or, a young graphic artist or web designer can sell her skills to create marketing collateral for other empowr users, or build the user’s company web site from the ground up.
2. The youth can sell products to other empowr users. For example, let’s say a young art graduate wants to sell her paintings, sculpture, or other art pieces, but doesn’t have the money or know-how to open her own art gallery. Well, she can find an eager audience ready to purchase her creative work by selling it to other empowr users.
3. As users of empowr, the youth can learn from other user’s expertise to help fill in their knowledge gaps. For example, the essay winners said many graduates didn’t know how to write a CV or apply for a job. All they have to do is tap into the vast knowledge base of empowr’s user community of teachers (also known as success coaches) to learn how to do it. It’s as simple as that!
Working with empowr.com, the possibilities are unlimited for today’s youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By taking advantage of empowr.com’s vast democratic knowledge- and education-based platform, these idealistic and take-charge young people can help solve their own problems and get rid of rampant unemployment in their country once and for all!