EFB Community Members at the 12th International MitOst-Festival in Novi Sad

The MitOst Festival was held in Novi Sad. About 200 MitOst members and guests participated and presented their voluntary projects, actions and mini projects, held workshops and networked. The festival programme included discussions, presentations, readings and other events organized under the slogan “Imagining the Balkans”. Alumni of the European Fund for the Balkans organized two workshops. The first workshop, titled “Artistic expression in the service of environmental protection education”, consisted of two segments. In the first segment, there was a presentation of the Today's Children for the Environment regional project and a follow-up discussion on strengthening environmental protection as a core (European) value and not only a policy. The second segment was used as a platform for discussing the use of artistic expression in the learning processes among children and youth to help them understand and accept important values. Participants shared different country experiences in this regional project, based on a comparative analysis between EU member states and Western Balkans. The presenters were Vladica Jovanović and Sofjan Jaupaj, alumni of the Southeast Europe and EU – Leadership Development Programme. The second workshop was a presentation of “Imagine EU 2030”, a project implemented from September 2012 to March 2013 within the framework of the Southeast Europe and the EU – Leadership Development Programme. This was a joint project of the European Fund for the Balkans, the College of Europe and the Transfuse Association aimed at improving the leadership and professional skills of young people aspiring to play an active role in the future of their countries. Young individuals within a multinational team from five different countries - Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey, were encouraged to write essays and present their vision of Europe in the year 2030. The focus of the workshop was on project activities, target groups, essay submissions, review and selection process, expected and achieved results with an overview of the specific challenges related to working in a multicultural environment. The workshop also focused on the role of social media, internet campaigns and visual identity as important tools for reaching project objectives. The speakers were Vanja Dumeljić and Dejan Bursać, alumni of the Southeast Europe and EU – Leadership Development Programme. For more information about MitOst Festival, please visit http://mitostfestival.wordpress.com/