OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS OF THE FIFTH GENERATION OF THE “CREATIVE MENTORSHIP” PROGRAMME

The call for participants of the fifth cycle of the programme “Creative mentorship” is open from 9th April and will last until April 26, 2019. This mentorship programme is aimed at current and future professionals in the field of culture, art, media, creative industries and related disciplines.

During the  promotion of this call team of “Creative Mentorship” will visit several cities, where all interested will be able to get information about the details of the call, as well as the programme and the concept of mentorship itself.

Promotions will be held in:
– Belgrade: Wednesday April 17th from 19h “Nova Iskra”, (Gavrila Principa 43)
– Šabac: Thursday, April 18th from 6 pm, National Museum Šabac, (Masarikova 13)
– Novi Sad: Friday, April 19th from 5 pm, “Svilara-cultural station” (Djordje Rajkovic 6b)
– Niš: Monday, April 22, 17.30h, EU info corner, (Vožda Karađorđa 5)

Who can be a participant of “Creative Mentorship” programme?

For the fifth cycle of the program, 25 new participants will be selected – current and future professionals in the field of culture, art and media from all parts of Serbia, coming from the public, civil or private sectors or acting independently. Potential participants in the program should be active in one of the various areas of the broadest area of culture, which includes, but are not limited to: art, cultural heritage, creative industries (design, architecture, fashion, film, photography, gaming, music) cultural policy, cultural and cultural education, cultural management and production, culture research, culture for children and youth, socially engaged culture and arts, cultural studies, media production, international cultural cooperation and other related fields.

It is important to emphasize that formal education in one of these areas is not a requirement for participation, but much more important is the current or future work, the desire for further professional development, and the achievements to this date. Likewise, although the programme is primarily intended for those who are already professionally active and have achieved results in one of the above areas, participants in the programme can be individuals who are currently in the process of formal education. It is not relevant for participation in the programme whether potential participants are employed or not, and there is no age limit for participation – the programme aims to support professionals and future professionals of all generations active in those areas who want to work on themselves and their professional development with the support of a mentor.

Some of our alumni, participants of previous programme cycles are: Nikola Andonov, architect who represented Serbia at the Venice Biennale in 2012 and the FabLab founder; Marko Radenković, founder of the first design incubator  in Serbia “Nova Iskra”; Lidija Ham Milovanovic, Public Relations manager of the National Museum in Belgrade; Vesna Ivanovic, school librarian in the village of Mačkat; Bojana Bačić, journalist of the daily newspaper “Danas”; Bojana Lukić, painter and author of children’s workshops in the field of visual culture; Dunja Pešut, a professor of Serbian language and literature in Bačka Topola; Marina Prohaska, digital communications manager in the non-profit sector; Milan Markovic, curator – pedagogue at the Museum in Smederevo; Lana Nikolic, journalist of Radio Belgrade 202, and many other talented, proactive and dedicated professionals.

About the programme

“Creative mentorship” is a unique mentorship programme in Serbia that promotes the professional and personal development of individuals, professionals and future experts engaged in the field of culture, arts, creative industries and the media. The programme exhits for 7 years and today gathers a network of 200 ambassadors of “Creative mentorship”, which make up a community of motivated and socially responsible individuals that contribute to the development of a society based on creativity, knowledge and cooperation.

The programme primarily affirms and encourages mentorship as a form of lifelong learning and the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences between established professionals, mentors and future professionals, mentees. The main activity of the programme for mentees is a one-year individual mentor support, which the team of “Creative mentorship” carefully chooses in relation to the needs, goals and challenges of the selected mentees. The mentor’s role is to support mentees in achieving their goals, by overcoming the challenges they face, and by supporting their personal and professional development by sharing knowledge, experience and perspective.

With a one-year mentorship support, the programme also provides relevant trainings, lectures and debates on current issues of relevance to the work and development of participants, study trips as well as networking and exchange with other engaged and active professionals who participate in the programme. In this way, participants are given the opportunity to, through joint meetings and gatherings with other mentees and mentors during the programme, have the opportunity to exchange experiences and potential cooperation with them. In addition, participants receive continuous support of the “Creative Mentorship” team and promotion of their work and achievements during the duration of the programme, but also after they become part of the Alumni Network.

The program includes mentors and mentees from the civil, public and private sector, and mentors in the program are local or foreign professionals from different fields – culture, art, media, as well as diplomacy, business, politics, social sciences, education, management, human resources, marketing, and other areas. In this way, by selecting mentors belonging to different sectors, generations and professions, the goal is to enable mentees to acquire specific knowledge and experiences from other areas, which are often inaccessible to them.

Some of the mentors in the previous, fourth cycle of our program were: Natali Beljanski, executive director of the Street Music Festival from Novi Sad; Joachim Waern, Deputy Head of Mission of the Swedish Embassy in Belgrade; Miša Stojiljković, journalist, psychologist and media advisor; Lazar Džamić, creative strategist, until recently the head of the team for brand strategy in Google’s creative think-thank ZOO in London; Sladjana Petrović Varagić, program coordinator at “Filmart”; Ana Pejovic, Project Manager of the Crocodile Organization, Dobrivoje Erić, Head of the International Cooperation Center of the Center for the Promotion of Science, and others, while in the first three cycles mentors among others were Tony O’Brien, former director of the British Council for the Western Balkan; Olga Svoboda, then director of GI Group HR Solutions; Jasna Dimitrijević, Director of the Foundation Ilija M. Kolarac; Marija Desivojević Cvetković, vice president of Delta Holding; Maja Lalic, creative director of Mixer; Branko Dimitrijević, professor and theoretician of art; Milan Petrovic, then president of the Serbian Association of Managers; Helen Larson Poussete, then cultural atashe of the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade, and many others.
Participation in the programme is free, thanks to the mentors who contribute to the programme, as well as to numerous sponsors and programme partners who recognize the value and potential of “Creative mentorship”.

Those interested in participating in the programme can apply but not later than April 26, filling in and submitting the application form on the Google Form platform and submit a recent CV.