Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia

What Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia does

Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia (YIHR Serbia; legal name: Inicijativa mladih za ljudska prava) is a Belgrade-based non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 2003 that educates young people and advocates on transitional justice, war crimes accountability, and human rights across the Western Balkans. Its core offerings are educational — regional youth exchange programmes, the Drina Summer School, the Rule of Law Advocacy Workshop (Tačka susreta), ENGAGEUROPE EU training, the Regional Pride Academy, and a War History and Facts research programme — alongside analytical publications such as the annual 'Stanje poricanja' (State of Denial) report and 'Dosije Hrvatska' series, and the narrative podcast 'Pravi heroji' (Real Heroes). It also acts as an intermediary funder through the EU-backed 'Prvo Prava' (Rights First) project, redistributing grants to Serbian civil society partners, and has filed complaints before Serbia's Commissioner for Protection of Equality on hate speech and glorification of war criminals. Headquartered at Dobračina 4, Belgrade, YIHR Serbia is part of a regional network of sister NGOs in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo — collectively employing around 50 staff, of whom approximately 15-16 are in the Serbia office.

YIHR Serbia does not sell products or services in a commercial sense; pricing is not applicable. Its business model is entirely project-based grant funding from international institutional donors and foundations, with named support from the European Commission, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Sigrid Rausing Trust, Open Society Foundations, the US Embassy to Serbia, and the German Embassy to Serbia. Distribution is direct and field-based — through workshops, summer schools, online training (Microsoft Teams), regional exchanges, public protests, publications, social media, and a podcast — targeting beneficiaries aged roughly 15-30 (secondary and university students, young activists, journalists, lawyers, and artists) and partner civil society organisations. Cumulative reported outputs include more than 15,000 alumni from exchange programmes, more than 200 training programmes organised, more than 30 analytical reports published, 300 street actions and protests, and 15 cases won before national and international courts. The organisation is privately structured, is not listed on any exchange, and has no parent company.

Name

Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia

Legal name

Inicijativa mladih za ljudska prava

Website

https://yihr.rs

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Peace, Security Sector Reform & Stabilization Programs (BPADABAH)

Keywords

• Human rights advocacy
• Youth education
• Transitional justice
• Civil society programs
• War crimes monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Belgrade

HQ country

Serbia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Project-based funding from international donors: YIHR is project-funded through applications to European and global foundations. The organization receives support from institutional donors for its programs focused on youth education, transitional justice, human rights advocacy, and regional cooperation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia (YIHR) is a non-governmental organization that educates young people about the wars of the 1990s, human rights, and democracy through regional exchange programs, workshops, and online training. The organization monitors war crimes trials, files complaints and advocacy initiatives, and produces analytical reports and a narrative podcast documenting individuals who resisted the 1990s conflicts.

Product overview

Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia is a non-governmental organization (not a technology product company) that operates as a regional network with offices in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. The organization offers human rights education programs, produces publications and analytical reports, runs a narrative podcast called 'Pravi heroji', and implements various youth exchange and advocacy programs. Its main offerings include educational workshops (such as the Rule of Law Workshop, EU Training via ENGAGEUROPE, and Drina Summer School), analytical publications (including the annual State of Denial reports and Croatia Dossier reports), and the Rights First grant project supporting civil society. The organization does not offer a technology product platform but rather focuses on human rights advocacy, education, and regional cooperation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pravi heroji (True Heroes): A narrative podcast project documenting stories of individuals who opposed the wars of the 1990s, produced by YIHR Serbia.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 15,000 young people educated through exchange programmes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• ENGAGEUROPE Consortium PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational consortium including SCiDEV (Albania), University of Shkodra (Albania), Youropía (Spain), CCIS (Albania), AYDM (Montenegro), SOLUTION (North Macedonia), YIHR Croatia, YEF (North Macedonia), implementing EU-funded programme on democracy and civic engagement.
• Prvo Prava Project PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium implementing 'Rights First' project including: Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina, Human Rights Committee of Niš, LINK Sombor, LIVRIT Preševo, Vojvodina Civic Center, and Center for Academic Progress from Novi Pazar.
• Regional YIHR OfficescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYIHR operates as a regional network with offices in Serbia, Croatia (yihr.hr), Montenegro (yihr.me), Bosnia and Herzegovina (yihr.ba), and Kosovo (yihr-ks.org), coordinating youth programmes and advocacy across the Western Balkans.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network): Regional network producing investigative journalism and analysis on war crimes, transitional justice, and accountability. Overlaps with YIHR in regional footprint and subject matter, but operates via journalism rather than youth education.
• Impunity Watch: International NGO focused on combating impunity for gross human rights violations, with country programs in the Western Balkans. Comparable mission and donor base to YIHR.

Direct peers

• Youth Initiative for Human Rights Croatia: Croatian sister-organization of YIHR within the same regional network — direct peer with identical mission and programming adapted to the Croatian context.
• RECOM Initiative: Regional coalition advocating for the establishment of a Regional Commission to establish facts about war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. YIHR is an active coalition member and closely aligned in mission.
• Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia: Serbian human rights NGO monitoring civil liberties, rule of law, and minority rights. Comparable in mission, domestic orientation, and donor ecosystem to YIHR Serbia.
• Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past: Croatian NGO documenting war crimes and supporting victims, part of the same regional transitional-justice ecosystem as YIHR. Direct peer in the cross-border network YIHR coordinates.
• Humanitarian Law Center (Fond za humanitarno pravo): Serbian NGO documenting war crimes, providing victim support, and litigating before domestic and international courts. Closest direct peer to YIHR Serbia in mission (transitional justice), geography, donor base, and advocacy orientation.
• Coalition for RECOM: Coalition of 2,000+ civil society organizations in the former Yugoslavia supporting a regional truth commission. Shares YIHR's transitional-justice focus and Western Balkans regional scope.

Others

• European Western Balkans (EWB): Policy portal covering EU integration and rule of law in the Western Balkans. Adjacent peer operating in civic-education and EU-accession narrative space relevant to YIHR's programming.

Broad incumbents

• Amnesty International Serbia: Serbian section of a global human rights organization; overlaps in human-rights advocacy and civic education but operates as part of a broader international mandate rather than region-specific transitional justice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/61554564981586
• Instagraminstagram.com/praviheroji
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yihr-inicijativa-mladih-za-ljudska-prava-srbija

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia