On Thursday, 22 January and Friday 23 January, 2008, USAID’s Economic Security program and Junior Achievement in Serbia (JAS) will sign an agreement with mayors of eight cities and municipalities of Pčinjski and Jablanički districts formalizing their commitment and support to the start of the student participation phase of the Junior Achievement program.
The program will be implemented in 14 high schools across the following municipalities: Vranje, Bujanovac, Preševo, Surdulica, Leskovac, Meveđa, Vlasotince and Lebane. Twenty-eight teachers and at least 300 students will be involved in this USAID-supported program in these municipalities during spring 2009. The agreements will be signed between Mr. Michael Pillsbury, USAID’s Economic Security program director, Mrs. Miona Badžević Anđelković, JAS Board Vice Chairman and mayors of the nine cities and municipalities within these two districts.
The purpose of the program is to promote entrepreneurial and business skills, and understanding of the market economy and business operations, among young people in Serbia. The singing of the MoU between local governments and JAS is meant to formalize the commitment of local stakeholders to support the program. Through the JA program, students will gain practical knowledge on how to start and run student businesses and how to launch and promote products and services, by establishing and running at least one student company per school.
Many students in Serbia lack access to practical educational opportunities, which USAID’s Economic Security program seeks to address by equipping Serbia’s youth with specialized skill-sets required by the Serbian labor market, through support to JA and other entrepreneurship training programs for youth in order to raise their potential for employment and self-employment. USAID has supported the JAS program since 2003 and has provided approximately $350,000 for its activities to date.
Junior Achievement in Serbia (JAS) is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JAS has been active since 2002 in Serbia. During this period, the program has been implemented in 200 schools in 43 municipalities throughout Serbia and 16 schools in the City of Belgrade.