“Creative mentorship” affirms mentoring as a tool of personal and professional development, strengthens the capacities of the cultural sector and provides support to prospective professionals interested in developing, networking and sharing knowledge and experience. We want to build, gather and support a community of motivated and socially responsible individuals that will contribute to the development of a society based on creativity, culture, knowledge and mutual cooperation.

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info@kreativnomentorstvo.com

Open Call for Participants in Youth Cultural Cooperation program – Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina

APPLY until February 14th, 2020 (23:59 CET). 

Creative Mentorship and its partners are supported by RYCO within the second Open Call for Project Proposals co-financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Youth Cultural Cooperation program is organized within the project Transforming the Region One Conversation at A Time – Inspiring Youth Cultural Cooperation supported through the second RYCO Open Call for Project Proposals, co-financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund and organized in cooperation of “Creative Mentorship” from Serbia, OKC “Abrašević” from Bosnia and Herzegovina and “Rruga me Pisha” from Albania. This project is focused on overcoming the lack of contact, dialogue, exchange and cooperation between young cultural and media workers in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, and making a base for the future cultural network of youth who are socially and politically aware, educated and open-minded. In that matter, we are looking for 30 young people (20-30 years old) 10 from each contracting party – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, who are active in the field of culture, media, or arts. Selected participants will have an opportunity to learn from each other and from mentors by working on pilot initiatives during the period of 6 months (February – July 2020.). During this period, they will have the support of their mentors – artists and cultural professionals experienced in promoting and establishing regional cultural cooperation, reconciliation in the region or anti-war activities through culture, to cooperate within international tailor-made teams and designing pilot initiatives. The goal is to utilize mentoring and peer exchange processes, so the participants become familiar with relevant past initiatives, get inspired, informed and encouraged to become more engaged in youth civic activism through culture. The project aims to overcome prejudices and stereotypes about “the other” in the region and to contribute to building a future regional cultural network of young, socially aware, and responsible professionals.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

We encourage you to apply if you are:

– Persons 20 to 30 years old

– Living in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Albania

– Active in the field of culture, arts or and media*

– Individuals wanting to participate in the activities that tackle regional issues and want to work on networking and fostering cultural cooperation in the region of Western Balkans.

– Have a good command of English, since it will be the official language of the project activities.

*Participants don’t need to have professional experience or education in culture, arts or media and similar, but it is important to be in some way familiar and active in it. They also don’t need to have previous experience in regional cooperation initiatives, but it is important that they want to learn more and work on fostering cultural cooperation and mutual understanding in the region of Western Balkans.

Young people with disabilities, living in small or remote communities, with a lack of financial possibilities, and those who did not have many mobility opportunities are strongly encouraged to apply.

During the selection process, we will take into account the equal participation of male and female participants.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There will be selected 30 participants, 10 from each contracting party – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Then, they will be divided into teams of three, one participant coming from Albania, one from Bosnia and Herzegovina and one from Serbia. These international tailor-made teams will be supported in designing pilot initiatives by mentors and project infrastructure.

Together, they will collaborate in teams to produce concrete results of their pilot projects of regional cultural cooperation (artwork, media, texts, photography, theater plays, etc.), developed in cooperation with mentors. Participants will all gather at three seminars that will be organized in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Between these events, they will cooperate with each other and with their mentors by online meetings and via a Facebook group.

The three main events – seminars will take place:

– Belgrade – 28th of February – 02nd of March  

– Tirana: 24th – 26th of April

– Mostar: 10th – 12th of July.

The first seminar in Belgrade (Kick off) is important for participants as it will be the first occasion to meet live and to get to know each other. It is envisaged to form teams of three and discuss their future project as well as to be connected with their mentors and learn more about the history of regional cooperation in the region of Western Balkans. The second seminar in Tirana will be a chance for participants to present their team projects and the way they developed them, in order to get feedback from other participants and mentors. The final seminar in Mostar will be the moment of the presentation of all the results of the projects of all teams.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

– All travel costs, food, and accommodation expenses during project events covered (participants will travel to all three seminars in groups, by bus).

– Participation in 3 group meetings, in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia including workshops with experienced trainers, visiting cultural spaces that have an important role in regional cooperation initiatives or projects, and peer-to-peer learning sessions  (participation in all three seminars is obligatory for all participants)

– Support of mentors and expert-facilitated mentoring of collaboration projects from inception to completion (via Skype and e-mail during the period March – July) and relevant literature.

– 2 group meetings of 10 participants on the national level

WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS?

To be able to participate in all three seminars (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia)

– To work with their teams on the projects and cooperate with the team through Facebook Group

To plan online meetings with the team  

To send necessary materials to the mentor for meetings

– To be dedicated and motivated to learn

– To be active in networking and peer learning process

HOW TO APPLY:

You can apply by sending an e-mail with a short biography or CV and cover letter in which you will explain to us what is your motivation to participate.

If you are applying from:

 Serbia, send the email to:

info@kreativnomentorstvo.com  

kreativnomentorstvo@gmail.com

 Bosnia, send the email to: info@okcabrasevic.org

 Albania, send the email to: rrugamepisha@ymail.com

If you have any questions, please contact us by e-mail.

– MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT:

The project ”Transforming the Region One Conversation at A Time – Inspiring Youth Cultural Cooperation” has a goal to contribute to the process of overcoming the lack of contact, dialogue, exchange, and cooperation between young cultural and media workers in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, and to make a base for the future cultural network of youth who are socially and politically aware, educated and open-minded.

Past conflicts that young people of the Western Balkans have inherited still burden their present and future. In this region, nationalistic tendencies have a strong impact, and conflict past is often used as an argument and justification for hate speech, discrimination, lack of cooperation, and knowledge. Through the educational system, young people learn either nothing or negative examples from the past and thus follow bad role models. The official politics of remembrance is still more focused on negative inheritance. On the other hand, even during the periods of most intense conflicts, there were important initiatives and movements that struggled to overcome this situation and to establish cooperation in the region. This was particularly relevant in the field of culture, where cultural workers were vastly active in their resistance. However, in the institutional system, there is a lack of collective memory of such cultural and artistic work, and not enough dialogue and discussion exists between experienced cultural activists renowned for their engagement in the times of conflict or their work in politically critical arts in Western Balkans, and young professionals, future leaders in this field.

We want to inspire young people through the mentoring process to engage in activities on the regional scene and to offer encouragement and infrastructure for mutual cooperation. They will have the knowledge and support of more experienced activists and professionals who have gone through these processes. We do not want to impose any existing solutions, but we want to share experience and transfer know-how in order to motivate them to think further about working together. The project will give them the opportunity to question and discuss and will encourage them to initiate and develop joint initiatives that will intervene in the local and regional contexts and bring new ideas and approaches to dealing with the past, with the “other”, and questions of identity, diversity, and responsibility.

You can download the PDF form of the text here.