The forum ‘Youth and Media – Reconnect’ was held in parallel in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. Numerous guests participated, primarily young people, journalists and various profiles of authors and associates from the world of the media and media production and monitoring. It was an event run within the European Union funded project ‘Youth for Better Media’, and implemented by “Ja bih u EU” and the Media Centar.

At the start, the guests were greeted by Vladimir Pandurevic from Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He pointed out that this project, which is funded under the EU Civil Society and Media Programme, is important because it aims to achieve more active involvement of civil society and young people, primarily in terms of improving media content and in the protection of journalistic freedom.

Participants were able to follow the forum through an online platform that connected young people and journalists and participants from both locations. There was a discussion on the media and the content that young people follow and the formats that the media uses in the production of news together with recommendations on the formats that would help the media to attract and retain the interest of young people.

Samra Lučkin, on behalf of the NGO ‘Ja bih u EU’, explained certain aspects of this EU programme, including the new challenges that new forms of media content and the emergence of new media have caused publishers and news and radio and television companies in attracting and retaining young audiences.

Anida Sokol, a representative of the Media Centre and author of the research, presented the meticulous research that was conducted within the project ‘Youth for Better Media’ that sought, among other things, to determine how young people follow traditional/mainstream media and what specialised content exists for young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Anida explained, “The media rarely take a strategic approach to preparing the content of youth programmes. It is necessary for the traditional media in Bosnia and Herzegovina to find a way to attract a younger audience, to prepare content that is interesting to them, but also those that are educational and that deal with socially relevant issues. We have raised this important issue through the forum. I hope that the media and young people will find a way to return the young audience to the media through discussion and cooperation.”

Younger generations growing up with new technologies, the Internet, social networks and mobile phones have different information and communication needs and expectations from the media compared to the rest of the population. Ajna Mešić, a participant of the forum in Sarajevo, said, “Shows should start with positive news. That is what young people want to hear. Young people are looking for a reason to stay here.”

A large number of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not follow traditional media because they are not satisfied with the content they offer and are therefore looking for such content on the Internet and social networks. On the other hand, the lack of funds means that traditional media in Bosnia and Herzegovina invest less in the production of specialised content for young people.

Aldin Alic, an activist from Zenica, explained, “We had the opportunity to hear the perspective of young people and media professionals on how everyone together could contribute to the development of content in traditional media so that in the next 10 years we would not lose the population that will consume traditional media. The media are a pillar of a democratic society and if we lose trust in the media we have also lost democracy.”

Ahmed Babić and Ena Sikira from RTV Zenica conceived the show ‘Iz mlade zjenice’, which aired for two years, stated that the success of the show was greater on YouTube than on television and that it was important to create short content with an interesting narrative.

Mirela Biković, the creator of ‘Cat Patrol’, which is a programme created for social networks and today has a successful production framework, said, “Don't run from trends. Use them to present socially responsible topics through your content.”

Maja Isović, a Buka’s journalist who participated in the forum ‘Youth and Media - Reconnect’ stated, “It is already a big challenge for traditional media today to adapt the content in order to be viewed and read and I think that online media will soon face great challenges.”

The Youth for Better Media project, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by “Ja bih u EU and the Media Centar, seeks to establish a link between youth and the media by developing an innovative approach to strengthen independent media in Bosnia and Herzegovina and encourage youth activism in support of the media. Through the moderation of Nikola Vučić in Sarajevo and Dejan Šajinović in Banja Luka and the explanations given by activists such as Aldin Alić and Biljana Andrijević it was concluded that media content is determined largely by the context and that the most important thing at the present moment is to open a space for young people. Young people will follow positive examples and so we must find a way to create and track content.