To BiH or not to BiH?

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To BiH or not to BiH?

July 12, 2013

Returnees and young persons in Diaspora - 874 of them, responded to a survey conducted under the umbrella of the Youth Employability and Retention Programme (YERP); a first mapping of the potential for the return of migrants, re-integration into the labour market, and contribution to the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) by its young Diaspora. A link to an online survey, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative questions, was sent to Diaspora organizations and individuals across the world. The results of the survey, including demographic characteristics of the migrants; motivations for and obstacles to their return and reintegration into the BiH labour market; ties to and identification with their home country; as well as comparisons across groups, are analysed in this report. The aim of the report is to identify the challenges and opportunities for young Diaspora to return successfully to BiH (with a focus on the BiH labour market) as well as to identify interest and motivation to contribute to its development whether or not they are interested in returning.

Conclusions and recommendations are presented, including possible measures for:

- attracting young Diaspora to return;

- successful labour market integration upon return;

- fully harnessing the contributions of migrants that have stated an interest in contributing without permanently or physically returning to the country.