In Valjevo and Šabac, social inclusion and educational conditions improved with the EU support

Valjevo and Šabac, with the support of the European Union, have enhanced the quality of lives of their citizens through improving social inclusion, and conditions for education and development of young talents.

In Valjevo, the EU supported construction of social housing building for 20 families from the most vulnerable social groups, which significantly contributed to the quality of their lives. With EU funds of 830,000 Euros, allocated through the programme “EU Support for Social Housing and Active Inclusion” and the participation of the city of Valjevo in the amount of 216,000 Euros, a total of 58 people moved into new and fully equipped apartments.

During the working visit to Valjevo, the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Nicola Bertolini, visited the beneficiaries of this project, and said: “Taking care of the vulnerable groups, the Roma population, children, women victims of violence, is one of our most important joint tasks, as by improving their social inclusion, we contribute to the sustainable development of the entire community, in which no one is left behind”. He pointed out that through this project, the EU provides not just social housing, but also additional measures of support in employment, training for professional development, measures to support children and young people in education, and preventive health examinations.

In Valjevo, Bertolini also met with representatives of the European Movement in Serbia and talked about the project Roadsigns to the EU after which he visited the Lora Sweet enterprise, which, with the EU grants of over 40,000 Euros, got new equipment and, in addition to the production of Turkish delight , also began to produce decorative cake mass.

In Šabac, the EU invested almost 180,000 Euros through the EU PRO Plus programme in the construction of a new facility of the Science Center that provides conditions and systematic support to talented and gifted students to develop their talents and potentials. Last September, the Science centre, equipped with cabinets for physics, biology and chemistry, multimedia classrooms, hosted over 200 primary school pupils, participants of the Math Camp. During the summer, the city of Šabac has organised a cultural and educational camp for young people from the diaspora and the region in the Science Centre, while during his visit to the centre, the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation, Nicola Bertolini, had the opportunity to talk with high school students who are involved in the project “Create, donate, volunteer”. This project was initiated by the City of Šabac with the aim of encouraging the activism and social responsibility of young people in the local community while developing their skills for the preparation and implementation of projects.

“I am glad to see that the local self-government is working with young people who are learning about European values, preparing to be active members of their communities, contributing to solving common problems, volunteering for the welfare of the community, and at the same time acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing projects,” Nicola Bertolini pointed out. “Caring for the development of young people’s potential and improving their knowledge is an important step towards creating a better environment. And here in Šabac we can witness it – the local self-government, together with the EU, created the conditions for young talents to develop but also to be engaged members of society”, concluded Bertolini.