Larisa Halilović is an international expert, speaker and consultant with more than 20 years of experience in management, leadership and professional development. She studied at Cambridge University in the UK and New Zealand in the field of adult education, linguistics and psychology. Larisa has been leading important projects in the field of education, social development and culture in the Western Balkans, for the past 16 years. Currently, she holds a position of a director of the international pilot project Digitial Cities, which is implemented in six countries of Western Balkans and the UK, and she is also a director of the British Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Helene Larsson Pousette is a curator based in Stockholm. For many years she worked at the Swedish History Museum focusing on contemporary art in relation to history, heritage and memory. She served as Cultural Attaché for the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade, Serbia, and initiated and led projects that promoted mutual exchange between institutions and independent arts and culture, with the aim to create social change and long-term relationships. She is co-founder for the newly established Stockholm Museum of Women´s History, and is currently the manager for collections, research and development. She also works as researcher at the Swedish National Heritage Board and sits on the board of Voksenåsen Centre for Swedish-Norwegian Cooperation in Norway.
Philipp Dietachmair is a cultural worker from Austria, who, for almost two decades, is engaged in the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) based in Amsterdam. Currently, he holds the position of Programme Manager. Philipp studied history and history of arts in Vienna and arts management in Utrecht. Since he joined the ECF team, he worked on programmes that aimed at strengthening the capacity of cultural initiatives in EU surrounding countries (in the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Turkey and the Arab Mediterranean region).
Nana is actively involved in designing and facilitating trainings and workshops for youth, professionals, organizations, and companies interested in transforming their businesses, as well as improving the overall experience of collaboration and innovation. Holding an MA in Management in Culture, Interculturalism, and Mediation in the Balkans from the University of the Arts Belgrade with great experience in the private, public, and civil sectors. She supports businesses and organiizaitons in improving their innovation and collaboration processes through programs such as: Raising Starts, Smart Start, D incubator, Ninja Accelerator, Playing Narratives, Upgrade, Serbia Innovates, Venture an Idea and many more. She was as a professor at Belgrade's Faculty of Media and Communication and was a mentor in the Nelt Educational Program.
A producer by education, a human resources specialist by profession, and an activist by conviction. With a special interest in diverse topics such as community building, lifelong learning, modern circus and the experimental use of sound, Tamara believes that our greatest strength lies in the freedom to change. Having won numerous awards in the field of social activism, she draws her inspiration from the desire to change the society for the better, which is why she firmly believes in the value of mentorship.
Relja Dereta was a participant in the first generation of the “Creative mentorship”. Later, he became a partner of the programme, and finally a mentor in the 3rd generation in 2016/2017. He is one of the founders and director of Epic Assistants, with more than 10 years of experience as a consultant and trainer of presentation and communication skills. He advises global experts, managers, scientists, lecturers, creative workers and many others on how to formulate their ideas. Relja is also a member of the Board of Directors of Civic Initiatives.
Dr Višnja Kisić is a co-founder of the “Creative mentorship” programme and its development and education manager since 2012. She is a passionate advocate of mentoring, continuous learning, sharing and cooperation. She studied history of arts, holds a master degree from UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Management, and a PhD in heritage studies. In addition, she is a researcher, practitioner and educator. She focuses her research and expertise on politics, politicity and the social role of heritage and culture. She is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Sports and Tourism, lecturer at the UNESCO Chair for cultural policy and management at the University of Arts in Belgrade, visiting lecturer at the University of Lyon 2 (France), Uppsala University (Sweden) and the Academy of Cultural Management of the Goethe Institute.
Tatjana has collaborated with Creative Mentorship since autumn 2014, currently as a Member of the Advisory Board. She is Research Assistant at the Institute for Theatre, Film, Radio and Television in Belgrade in the field of cultural management and policy and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade with the thesis on Gender and Age Equality in Cultural Policy of Serbia. Since January 2022 she has been a member of the board of the National Association of Theaters for Children and Youth ASSITEJ Serbia. Previously she was a member of the Board of the National Youth Council of Serbia. Since 2013 Tatjana has been a co-leader of Young Women's Collective FEMIX, best known by the Girls Rock Camp Serbia. In 2018 she received Special recognition from the “Jelena Šantić” Foundation for supporting young professionals in the field of culture, arts and creative industries.
Professor at the University of Arts and one of the biggest experts in cultural policy in the region. She is an author of numerous books and studies translated into 15 languages; international lecturer on cultural policy and management; a consultant and expert in the field of cultural policy and management, often engaged by the European Foundation for Culture, the Council of Europe, UNESCO, the Marcel Hicter Foundation, Pro Helvetia, British Council.
Former director of the British Council for the Western Balkans chaired the Advisory Board of the „Creative Mentorship” until 2022. He has more than 40 years of experience as a teacher, teacher trainer, author, project manager, director of the cultural center, manager of cultural relations, mentor and leader.
Karen is a cultural heritage expert from England, engaged in several platforms and projects in this field in the Western Balkans area. Her expertise is mainly focused on management of changes and development of museum institutions. She was a part of the numerous English governing bodies and institutions in the field of cultural heritage. She is also an advisor of the Heritage Lottery Fund, Cultural Heritage Without Borders, the Diocesan Advisory Council and a member of the Norfolk Churches Trust Advisory Committee.
Coordinator for Media, Information and Culture at the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade. As a media, culture and information officer at the Swedish Embassy for almost three decades, Slavica has huge experience in working on various projects, with different people and organizations in the field of cultural and public diplomacy.
Marketing expert, founder of the “Mokrin House” and “Terra Panonica” company. He began his career more than 20 years ago in direct marketing, starting with successful advertising of the medical device Kosmodisk. Shortly after, he founded Studio Moderna, which became the leading TV sales company in Central and Eastern Europe. Currently, he is present in 20 countries of Central and Eastern Europe with the “Top Shop” brand.
General manager of “Nova Iskra” design incubator. Producer of the younger generation, graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Department for management and production of theater, radio and culture. He is one of the founders of the Festival of International Student Theater - FIST at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, where he was engaged as a teaching fellow in the subject area of Management in Culture.
Former director of Oriflame for Scandinavia and personal and professional development advisor. Leadership is her passion and she is known for her innovative leadership approach which differs from the conventional and classical one. Marie left Scandinavia and corporate environment and moved to Albania where she launched entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at supporting local tourism. In 1997, she received the Future Leader Award from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and in 2016, the Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
CEO/Executive Director/Board member /Social Entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit/charitable sector. He supports the establishment and development of the local, national and international charities and NGOs. He has a significant experience in management and leadership, strategic planning, operational - change management, people management, fundraising, communications, project development and management.