In August 2026, the Center for Youth Integration was forced to close its Support Programme for Refugee and Migrant Children, after 11 years of working alongside children and families experiencing displacement and migration.
Over those 11 years, more than 15,000 beneficiaries received support through the programme, while more than 60 staff members contributed to its work. Behind these numbers are thousands of encounters, conversations, interventions and different forms of support provided to children and their families at times when they needed it most.
Over the years, this programme became an important part of the Center for Youth Integration, but it also changed us as an organisation. We learned a great deal – from the children and families we worked with, from our colleagues, partners and the many organisations we met along the way. We developed new ways of working, strengthened our integration programmes, exchanged knowledge and experience, and built a network of people and organisations with whom we shared the same goal: to ensure that every child, regardless of where they come from or where they currently find themselves, can have access to support, protection and a safe space.
Throughout these years, Save the Children stood alongside us as our key partner in developing and implementing the programme. We are deeply grateful for the trust, support, shared learning and all the years we spent together finding the best ways to respond to the needs of refugee and migrant children.
The decision to close the programme was not an easy one. It was primarily the result of a lack of financial resources to continue its work, alongside the fact that the number of refugees and migrants passing through Serbia and accessing formal support systems has decreased in recent years.
However, the end of the programme does not mean that the needs have disappeared.
We remain concerned about people who are still on the move, and particularly about children who remain outside formal protection and support systems. Fewer people being visible within the system does not necessarily mean that there are no children and families travelling through Serbia without coming into contact with institutions or organisations. It is precisely these children, who remain largely invisible to the system, who may face some of the greatest risks.
As we close this important chapter, we especially want to say thank you to the people who made it possible.
We are proud of the more than 60 colleagues who were part of the programme over these 11 years of their knowledge, energy, dedication and willingness to be there when support was needed most. Some spent shorter periods with us, others many years, and many grew professionally alongside the programme and the Center for Youth Integration.
So, while one programme is coming to an end, what we have built together over these 11 years does not end with its closure. The knowledge we gained, the people we met, the partnerships we built and the experiences we shared will remain part of CYI.
Thank you to everyone who was part of these 11 years.
