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Description
The Croatian Youth Network (CYN) is an umbrella youth organisation in Croatia and, as such, a member of the European Youth Forum. Currently, CYN counts 77 member organisations, either in candidate or full membership. The organisation is managed by a five-member Managing Board. Operationally, the work of the CYN is managed by the Secretary-General, who manages the operational team. CYN currently employs eight people and two more people are planned to be recruited.
The CYN is funded by projects and dominantly from foreign sources (EACEA, Erasmus+, and ESF), with the most nationally funded development cooperation in the field of the Knowledge Centre for Social Development at the National Foundation for Civil Society Development. Other sources of financing are economic activity and donations from individuals and organisations.
The context of CYN’s actions is decisively determined by the premature position of young people in Croatian society, as demonstrated by the lack of a national youth program and the overall socio-economic situation of young people for five years.
Another dimension of the problem is the lack of recognition of youth work as a profession and poor infrastructure for youth work. Given the problems encountered by CYN and its member organisations, and in line with its mission and vision, CYN will focus in the next three-year period on: (i) advocacy for social rights and democratic inclusion of young people in decision-making processes; (ii) the development of methods and institutional framework of youth work; (iii) developing a database of active young people and encouraging their (self-)organisation; (iv) own organisational development and empowerment of membership.
The funding needed to achieve the strategic objectives will be provided by MMH from the same sources as before, expanding the scope of the projects by applying more in partnership with member organisations.