The first time Emilija Marinković stood up for her rights, she was a preschooler. Equipped with nothing more than a kindergarten lesson about the child’s right to play, she faced her parents with unwavering seriousness: homework could wait- her rights could not. Many years later, she laughs at the memory, but it still reminds her why knowing your rights matters.

Fifteen years after the Youth Advisory Panel of the Protector of Citizens was created, Emilija stands as one of the many young people who embody what the Panel set out to achieve. Over the years, hundreds of children and adolescents have lent their voices, ideas, and experiences to help institutions better understand and protect the rights of young people. The Panel, supported through the action “Combating discrimination and promoting diversity in Serbia” under the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye,” has become a space where youth perspectives genuinely inform change.

For Emilija, its impact cannot be summed up in a single moment. Her memories are not of milestones but of conversations, trainings, consultations, friendships, and the growing feeling that her voice mattered not only to her peers, but to the very institution tasked with protecting young people’s rights. “All the conversations, trainings and consultations are what shaped my entire experience in the Panel,” she says. “Every acquaintance, every piece of knowledge gained, every opportunity for my voice to be heard contributed to my personal intellectual development.”

Through the Panel, she discovered skills she didn’t know she possessed. Public speaking that once felt intimidating became a source of strength. Working in teams taught her to listen and lead. Step by step, she gained confidence, understanding that knowledge is not abstract: it opens doors, creates opportunities, reveals new paths forward. She values most that the Panel gives young people a space where open communication- honest feedback, criticism, praise, questions, is welcomed. “The whole point of being a panelist is to speak up, not to be afraid, and to have the courage to express your observations, your criticism and your praise,” she says. “Only through open communication can we function and achieve visible results.”

This understanding became crucial when she began to recognise forms of discrimination and violence she would once have missed. “There were many forms of violence and discrimination that I didn’t know how to recognise before the training,” she says. “And that’s where the main task of the panelists comes in- raising awareness.” That knowledge moved from theory to reality one day when a classmate at her school experienced psychological violence from a teacher. No one acknowledged it. No one intervened. But Emilija looked again and realised she had a responsibility as a witness, as a peer,  as a member of the student parliament, as part of the school’s violence-prevention team, and as a youth panelist. “I took the matter into my own hands and resolved the situation in an appropriate way with the help of the knowledge I had gained,” she recalls. “That was the moment I actually moved from theory into practice.”

As the Youth Advisory Panel marks its 15th anniversary, stories like Emilija’s show what the initiative has been able to achieve: empowered young people who recognise discrimination, respond to injustice, and use their voice with confidence. It is proof that investing in youth participation is not symbolic, it reshapes lives, strengthens communities, and builds a culture of rights that grows stronger with every generation. And contributes to block the hatred in our societies.

When asked about her future, Emilija starts with a simple truth: she wants to remain, above all, a good human being. “I want to work in the field of rights and use my full potential in that area,” she says. “I have big ambitions and believe in myself, and I want to pass that belief on to someone who might need that final push to reach their goal and achieve their dreams.”