As soon as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were implemented, Goal 16 was viewed as genuinely transformative, officially connecting peace, justice, and strong institutions. A few of its more ruthless goals involve substantially lowering all types of violence, advocating the rule of law, decreasing illegal financial flows and corruption, as well as establishing strong institutions. However, there is a contradiction when discussing peace, justice, and strong institutions. The question imposed is what do we precisely mean by institutions?
We are perhaps imagining Governments, for illustration. But Then, what about informal institutions? Institutions are “secure, cherished, recurring models of comportment”. The phrase “institution” is normally implemented to mutually informal institutions as norms—comportment models crucial to a specific society that, over time, grow into collectively known traditional law. Informal institutions have played a fundamental part in the growth of human societies, up until the instant when some individuals began to advance more social, political, and economic authority and started to form officially recognized institutions founded on prejudiced morals.
Additionally, established on several studies issued, most of the today’s youth in the EU and the Western Balkans are the slightest politically involved generation – both formally and informally. They frequently argue that authorities do not feel a concern regarding their desires and difficulties and young people cannot have any influence at all on the existing control of their country – their voice is unheard even across elections because their level of involvement is low. Young people tend to be enthusiastic about a specific-matter subject, e.g., climate change, poverty, LGBTIQ+ rights, etc., which does not habitually automatically convert into votes. The youth is becoming more and more socially inactive, disconnected from the local and national policies. With this project called “The New Democratic Wo/Men of the Western Balkans” we want to accomplish the involvement of youth in numerous actual political topics that challenge the nation, the resolving of problems confronted by nations (exhibited on a diversity of actual difficulties), the education about the importance of leadership, organization, and involvement in local and national activism, and acclimatize our knowledge and skills in being able to become an active citizen endorsing democracy. These activities of the projects have the sole purpose of getting closer to the SDG16. My group and I are currently working on the issues in our country North Macedonia, such as illiteracy (linked with technology, education - teachers and professors as transmitters), Drop of intelligence in era of digitalization (linked with immigration) and disinterest of youth. We are attempting to find answers concerning these issues and bring us nearer to the implementation of the SDG16 as well as give hope for young generations that strong institutions mean involvement of young voices also.
In conclusion, the rule of law can be an influential instrument and is to some extent something, which must be addressed for the other development goals to also prosper. The truth that it has been identified under goal sixteen of the SDGs is an enormous step further, but actions must be established to tackle the inherent difficulty of higher-level corruption in the law-making bodies as well as not listening to the voice of youth, something which can delay development significantly.