For the third year in a row, Centre for European Perspective (CEP) is enablingouth from the region to attend the leading start-up meeting in the region with an international dimension, PODIM Conference. The project started three years ago in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and spread its scope to Kosovo last year.
During the project, young entrepreneurs from BiH and Kosovo prepare their entrepreneurial idea, improve it during the preparation phase in which a workshop takes place in Sarajevo and Prishtina, and then present it in their application through which we choose the best ten proposals per country.
Our experience show that the workshops that are organized in the recipient countries in the spring, contribute to the quality and quantity of the applications. The workshops proved to be useful as the entrepreneurial applications tend to be better year by year, which can also be seen in the ratio of the start-ups that are presented in the Start-up catalogue of PODIM Conference. The catalogue is prepared for the investors that attend the conference and raises awareness about the quality of the start-ups that are present throughout the conference. Among the participants of the conference, one third consists of investors, one third of start-ups and one third of bigger corporations from the region, seeking for corporate partnerships. PODIM Conference will take place on 10 and 11 May in Maribor, Slovenia. Our selected participants will participate at the conference, take part in the PODIM Challenge, present their ideas in the PODIM Start-up catalogue and be able to meet investors and potential partners at the one-on-one meetings.
This year, we received 27 applications from BiH and a record number, 48 from Kosovo. The commission, consisting of the experts in the field of start-up sector, assessed the ideas and invited the best 10 teams from BiH and the best 10 from Kosovo. CEP’s role is to enable the teams to select two team members who get the transportation, accommodation, ticket to the PODIM Conference, transfer around Slovenia and an additional day of training at the Jable Castle free of charge.
At the Jable Castle, young participants get to hear more about Slovenian start-up environment. This year they will listen to the representatives of the Start:up Slovenija team, that represents an association on the national level – a concept of start-up cooperation that is yet unknown in BiH and Kosovo. Positive Agenda for Youth in the Western Balkans will be presented by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a broader discussion will be established on the topic of their experiences, needs, expectations and challenges that they face in their home countries in the field of youth entrepreneurship. The 3-day project will conclude in Ljubljana, where the participants will visit the ABC Accelerator, get to know their vision and work and get information about their projects in the Balkans.
We widen participants’ knowledge about entrepreneurship and give them an insight into the process of development of the project from the initial idea to the launch and potential founding of their own company, which is one of potential approaches to addressing the issue of unemployment and underemployment in the wider region. Youngsters get an opportunity to meet potential investors and corporate partners and last but not least, the entrepreneurs with the same mindset and entrepreneurial enthusiasm, which is the key to the further cooperation that can transcend the state borders in the region of Western Balkans.
The project is part of our program activities, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation.
This week Centre for European Perspective (CEP) conducts the first workshop this year in the framework of the project ‘Assistance to Albanian municipalities in the preparation of the EU and other international projects’ in Albanian Vlorë.
The training is attended by 27 representatives of local and regional authorities as well as representatives of central public institutions and non-governmental organizations which design and implement projects at the operational level. The workshop started on 18th April with a networking event, followed by the official opening with presentation of project ideas on 19th April. Slovenian trainers, Slavka Zupan and Dimitrij Pur and their Albanian counterpart Elvana Zhezha guide the participants through the whole workshop, starting with the (EU) funding opportunities for Albania and the complete project cycle, from identification, formulation and financing of the project. The workshop will finish today. The second session of this workshop will follow in May 2017.
The project initially started in 2012 with a focus on strengthening the capacities of the Albanian Institutions for disbursement of funds from Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). Training of Albanian representatives was carried out as a study visit at the CEP premises at Jable castle. Since then, CEP has conducted 8 workshops on project preparation for civil servants. Last year’s follow up on training shows, that 71 project applications were submitted with 27 projects awarded (these figures are from December 2016).
CEP is implementing the workshop in cooperation with the Balkan Center for Cooperation and Development (BCCD), PLGP project of USAID and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tirana.
The project is part of the CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of international development cooperation.
CEP together with the leading EU think-tanks organised a round table “Perspectives for the Western Balkans in the European Union” 28 March in Ljubljana, following a preparatory meeting for the Reflection Forum event to be held in Trieste 26-27 June 2017.
The round table is now available online, watch it on the link below:
In the framework of the project ‘Assistance to Albanian municipalities in the preparation of the EU and other international projects’ between 18 and 21 April 2017 Centre for European Perspective (CEP) will conduct the first workshop in Albanian Vlora.
The first workshop is intended to present a variety of financing options, the whole project cycle and project design. Particular emphasis will be placed on project design whereas Slovenian experts will share their experiences in the preparation and implementation of such projects. The workshop will be attended by representatives of the Albanian municipalities, regional development agencies and regional youth centres. In the workshop, participants will present their own project ideas as well and with Slovenian experts they will look for possibilities for their realization. The second workshop within the above mentioned project will take place in May.
CEP is preparing a training in cooperation with the Balkan Center for Cooperation and Development (BCCD), the American development agency USAID and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Tirana.
The project is part of the CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of international development cooperation.
Napoved: CEP z delavnico za pripravo EU in drugih projektov za predstavnike albanskih občin
Center za evropsko prihodnost (CEP) bo v okviru projekta ‘Pomoč albanskim občinam na področju priprave EU in drugih mednarodnih projektov’ med 18. in 21. aprilom 2017 v albanski Vlori izvedel prvo delavnico.
Prva delavnica je namenjena predstavitvi različnih možnosti financiranja, razumevanju in izvajanju projektnega cikla ter zasnovi projektov. Poseben poudarek bo namenjen zasnovi projektov, slovenski strokovnjaki pa bodo ob tem predstavili konkretne izkušnje s pripravami in prijavljanjem tovrstnih projektov. Delavnice se bodo udeležili predstavniki albanskih občin, razvojnih agencij in regionalnih mladinskih centrov. V okviru delavnice bodo udeleženci predstavili tudi lastne projektne ideje in s strokovnjaki iskali možnosti za njihovo uresničitev. Nadaljevanje usposabljanja bo potekalo z drugo delavnico v mesecu maju.
CEP pripravlja usposabljanje v sodelovanju z Balkanskim centrom za sodelovanje in razvoj (BCCD), ameriško razvojno agencijo USAID in Veleposlaništvom RS v Tirani.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
