“Employment and Social Affairs Platform (ESAP) Kick Off Conference”

On 29 June in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, held a conference on the regional project “Platform for Employment and Social Affairs”, organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The aim of the conference was to bring the  Ministers of Labour and Social Policy from 6 economies of the Western Balkans at same place and to discuss about priority policy issues concerning employment and the labor market in the Western Balkans, namely:

– Encouraging youth employment as a major challenge and a significant opportunity for the future of the Western Balkans

– Improving labor market, as a shared responsibility

The platform was presented by Goran Svilanovic, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Antonio Graziosi from  the National Office for Central and Eastern Europe and Director of Department of decent work at the ILO and Thomas Bender, Head of Unit in the Secretariat General for Employment of the European Commission.

The main focus of the project “Platform for Employment and Social Affairs (ESAP)” is to promote and strengthen regional cooperation on employment and social affairs through various activities, such as building the capacity of government agencies, tripartite councils, social partners, labor inspectorates and employment services throughout the region and exchange of experiences and good practices.
Mr. Goran Svilanovic, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, said that job creation requires execution of coordinated and coherent policies to boost economic growth. This requires maintaining macroeconomic stability, business and investment friendly climate, a strong human capital and developing entrepreneurial skills, especially among the young.
This project is funded by the European Union.