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Author: WeBalkans

New career aspirations created in Konstanz, Germany

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

A Serbian political science student experienced new way of learning during his Master’s studies in Germany with support of Erasmus+ Goran Trailov believes that corruption is one of the important challenges that Serbia needs to overcome. That is why he chose to study political science and later chose the rule of law and corruption as the subject of his Master’s thesis. “It is a matter that needs urgent attention and I have been writing about it since my early undergraduate days. This is an important problem across the Western Balkans,” he says. Goran finished his Master’s studies at the University of Konstanz in Germany where his thesis was about the rule of law in the Western Balkans in the context of the theory of Europeanisation. He selected Serbia and Montenegro as case study countries and corruption as a specific topic of study. One of the conclusions of his thesis is that indeed there is hope for a better future for Serbia in this regard. Goran explains that the number of corruption-related cases in courts is increasing but there is still a lot of work to be done in reaching the EU standard. “Imagine having 1,000 people from all around the world in a small town where you have a chance to meet them. There is no way you could have a chance to taste cultural richness like this in big cities like Berlin. It was fascinating.” An opportunity almost lost After Goran finished his Bachelor studies he enrolled for Master’s-level studies at the University of Belgrade. At the end of the first year, he decided to continue his Master’s studies abroad with the support of the European Union’s ERASMUS + programme. He had heard about ERASMUS + back in his undergraduate days but back then he had been late to apply and did not make it. “At the end of the first year of my Master’s studies, I was advised to apply by an assistant teacher who is also the ERASMUS + Coordinator at my university,” says Goran. Goran was accepted to study at the University of Konstanz in Germany. “At first I was scared. I had lived all my life in Belgrade, and for the first time I was moving to a totally new environment: a small town in Germany,” says Goran. But his fears disappeared as soon as he arrived there. Konstanz is a historical university town with approximately 80,000 inhabitants and beautiful scenery, on the banks of Lake Constance. The town hosts 10,000 students of whom 1,000 are international. This is one of the qualities that initially impressed Goran. “Imagine having 1,000 people from all around the world in a small town where you have a chance to meet them. There is no way you could have a chance to taste cultural richness like this in big cities like Berlin. It was fascinating,” says Goran.

“Professors at Konstanz listened more to what we wanted to say, and they were open to learning from the students.”

Aiming for EU integration Now that he’s graduated, Goran plans to apply for traineeship at the EU institutions in Brussels. Following that he is aiming for a job at the Ministry of EU integration or another EU-related organisation in Serbia because he wants to work on the EU integration of his country. He explains that there is a need for more professionally educated politicians in the Western Balkans and elsewhere. “Nowadays, what you study is what you end up doing. Back in the day, one could study physics and become a chancellor of Germany. I don’t think that it will go that way anymore,” he says.     Goran was also impressed with the quality of education. One thing that made an impression on him was the variety of classes that he could choose to attend. As he explains, some classes repeat for years, but most of them change and there is always a new catalogue at the beginning of the semester from which students can choose. “This was very cool. With the new classes, we had a chance to keep up-to-date with what is happening in the world. So I don’t want to say more sophisticated, but that should be the word to compare Konstanz University with my university in Belgrade,” says Goran. Another quality that Goran highlights is the approach of the professors and the interactivity of lectures. “Professors at Konstanz listened more to what we wanted to say, and they were open to learning from the students. This is not the case with many professors at the University of Belgrade.” He also appreciates that on a number of occasions the professor went off-syllabus and introduced guests from EU institutions to share their experiences. “I remember that once we had the head of an EU agency operation in Africa. He explained to us how the team worked there and talked about the challenges and how they overcome them. That was fun,” he says.

Bringing the magic of animated film to a town in Kosovo

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Eleven years ago, five teenagers from Kosovo launched an animated film festival. Today ANIBAR is one of the leading festivals of its kind in Europe In 2005, five teenage fans of animated film were looking for ways to learn animation. They were living in the town of Peja/Peć in Kosovo and at the time there was no animation school anywhere in Kosovo, and they did not have the resources to travel abroad to learn. So they decided to bring the opportunity to learn animation to their town. As soon as they turned 18, they registered an NGO and began work on launching what would become one of the best-known animation film festivals in Europe — ANIBAR. “Normally festivals develop the other way around,” says Arba Hatashi, the current director of the festival. “First there is an animation school where people learn how to make animated films, and later they launch a festival so they can screen them. We did the opposite: we launched the festival so we could bring films and international mentors to Peja and learn how to make animated movies.” After 11 years, education is still an important aspect of the festival. In the beginning, the festival founders and other young people benefitted from the master classes and workshops provided by the trainers who visited Peja during the festival week. In 2016, they launched the Animation Academy in Peja and Pristina in the form of an ongoing animation course throughout the year. “Teaching younger generations the craft of animation was the original idea of the festival. This remains our most important mission.” The Academy is now teaching the fourth generation of students, while many of the young people from past generations are working in the animation film sector in Kosovo and four of them are studying in EU countries. The Academy is financed through the festival and by supporters of the organisation. “Teaching younger generations the craft of animation was the original idea of the festival. This remains our most important mission,” says Arba. Going from strength to strength The ANIBAR festival has screened hundreds of short films and hosted iconic animation professionals such as Koji Yamamura and others from globally renowned animation productions including The Simpsons, BoJack Horseman and Rick and Morty.

“Last year, we screened around 300 short animated movies and had a number of workshops and masterclasses. The festival is now an indispensable event for the youth and economy of the town.”

Personal and professional development Arba joined the festival as a volunteer back in 2013 when she was only 14 years old. Since then, she learned many skills and grown as a person as part of ANIBAR. “When I joined the festival, I didn’t even know how to write an email. Being part of ANIBAR contributed a lot to my personal and professional development,” she says. Last year she was appointed as the Festival Director, becoming one of the youngest festival directors in Europe. She says she knows she will remain part of the festival in one way or another for years to come. “You might think that we would lose our initial passion for the festival,” says Arba. “But honestly, every day that we work on the festival we are fascinated and find the passion of the first day all over again as the festival continuously feeds us with energy and love.”   ANIBAR has contributed to Peja’s economy as well. Last year 11,000 people visited the city during the festival week. This is an important figure for a town of 49, 000 inhabitants. “Last year, we screened around 300 short animated movies and had a number of workshops and masterclasses. The festival is now an indispensable event for the youth and the economy of the town,” says Arba. This impact could not have been achieved without the help of donors, and the European Union has been one of the main supporters of the Festival throughout the years. Alba explains that even at the start of the festival staff benefitted from training through various activities related to Erasmus+. Direct support from the EU began in 2014 and has not stopped since. “This support is very welcome as the festival involves huge expenditure such as the travel and accommodation costs of national and international visitors, as well as screening costs,” says Arba. She hopes that the EU will continue to support the festival in the future as it is an investment in the economy, art and youth.

New homes for 40 refugee families

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

Forty refugee families displaced from the territory of the former Yugoslavia and living in Kruševac in central Serbia were given keys to their new homes on Tuesday during an event attended by the Head of the European Union Delegation, Sem Fabrizi, the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dačić, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Vladimir Cucić, delegates of the UNHCR, and Kruševac town officials.

 

Ambassador Fabrizi thanked the members of refugee families for their patience, saying that he hoped their new homes would make them finally feel safe. “This is a wonderful expression of solidarity by the EU and its citizens towards nations of the Western Balkans. The outcome of this essential project shows that we have succeeded and that we are still succeeding in doing a great job,” he said.

 

The apartments were built under the Regional Housing Programme (RHP). The programme was established to provide permanent housing solutions to vulnerable refugees and displaced persons following the 1991-1995 conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The RHP conducts its activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. The European Union is the project’s main donor.

 

Speaking about the programme’s achievements, Fabrizi highlighted the figure of 5,150 families whose housing issue has been permanently resolved, whether through the construction of new apartment units, or adaptation or purchase of existing housing units. The goal of the programme is to provide housing solutions for 7,600 refugee and displaced families.

“The lives of creatures on our planet are interconnected”

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A veterinary student from Tirana gains new knowledge, skills and ambitions – and a cat – by participating in the ERASMUS+ programme Armela Lato is a final year student at the veterinary faculty in Tirana. She initially wanted to study medicine but her exam score was not good enough for the Faculty of Medicine. Armela was not a great animal lover but decided to attend the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine as it was closer to what she had originally wanted to study. “At the time this was a provisional solution for me. I was planning to apply again for medicine the next year,” says Armela. However, during the first few months at the faculty she changed her mind and began to consider the work of a vet as a lifetime profession. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Tirana had good professors, and this is one of the reasons why Armela was happy with it. “The professors supported us in every way and they were friendly,” she says. They also gave her a new vision for her work – she remembers one of her professors saying that, “if you help animals you help humanity, because the lives of creatures on our planet are interconnected”. However, the faculty had limited resources both in terms of equipment and the number of patients coming to the faculty clinic. Armela’s theoretical knowledge was improving but she needed to improve her practical skills. “Give an animal a little care and it will be grateful forever.” Finding the practical skills Ever since high school, Armela had wanted to study abroad. One of the reasons for this was a better chance of employment. “Finding a job in Albania is not an easy thing. But If I graduated abroad, I could have an internationally recognised diploma and a better chance to find a job abroad,” she explains. With this in mind she began to look for opportunities for scholarships to study outside Albania. In her third year of studies, she saw an opportunity from the Erasmus+ student exchange programme published on the faculty portal. She had three options: Bologna, Milan and Zagreb. With visions of the opportunities she’d be able to explore in Croatia and Italy, she applied for all three. “I was accepted in both Milan and Zagreb, but I chose Zagreb, as my professors said that they thought that the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine there was better equipped, and has a longer tradition,” says Armela. Zagreb adventures She began her experience at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb in the second semester of her third year of studies, and stayed there for six months. Telling the story of her stay she says wide-eyed, “It was very different there: much better.” The faculty clinic was better equipped than the one in Albania. Apart from surgery equipment they also had advanced diagnostic equipment such as echography and radiography that were not available at the faculty in Tirana. “We also had a much larger number of patients coming to the faculty clinic, and the equipment was available to use whenever we wanted. This was amazing.”

“We had a much larger number of patients coming to the faculty clinic, and the equipment was available to use whenever we wanted. This was amazing.”

Studying veterinary science changed one other thing in her life. Although she had never hated animals, she says she just did not have any affection for them. In particular she had a strange dislike of cats. ‘I don’t know why but I simply could not look at or touch cats. But now I have a cat of my own,’ she smiles. ‘Give an animal a little care and it will be grateful forever,’ says Armela. Armela also had difficult experiences during her stay in Zagreb. At the clinic they had patients with serious uncurable illnesses whose owners chose euthanasia in order to relieve them from pain. This was one of her encounters with the distressing side of the profession. She learned the hard way that not every patient can be saved. Throughout her stay Armela had the chance to learn new things. For example, she learned about a blood disease that she had never heard of before and whose diagnosis depended on measuring the size of the bones and skull, as one of the symptoms of this disease was the shortening of these parts of the body. “It was fascinating how they diagnosed the disease step by step and compared the symptoms with two or three other possible diseases before coming to their conclusion,” she says. Future plans After all she learned in Zagreb, Armela is now even more committed to continuing her career as a vet and to excelling in the profession. Once she’s graduated she’s aiming to study dermatology or physiotherapy at postgraduate level, preferably at a university abroad, and then to come back to Albania and try to set up her own clinic, or work in a state veterinary institution.  

“Starting the journey with Erasmus+ was my best investment”

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From the war and economic crisis of a childhood in Yugoslavia to working and studying for a peaceful, prosperous EU future Bojana Zimonjić (30), from Serbia, first learned about the European Union in citizenship education class in high school. She had heard about it before from the news but says she didn’t really know what the EU was all about. However, even as a child, some of the most important things for Bojana were peace and prosperity. As with most children born in Yugoslavia, the war and economic crisis had an impact on Bojana’s childhood. In her high school class, she learned that the core values of the EU aim to prevent these two problems through promoting peace and economic prosperity for everyone. “I found this idea amazing, and I fell in love with the EU and the idea behind it,” she says. Bojana further explains that even in high school she understood that to promote these values, one had to engage actively. Consequently, she chose to study Political Science at university.  

“My whole professional life and future aspirations are about the EU, and starting the journey with the ERASMUS+ programme was the best investment in my life.”

New opportunities with ERASMUS Bojana believed that the values that she was attached to could be best promoted through the promotion of EU integration. When the time for her Master’s studies came she began to look for opportunities to learn more about the European Union. It was announced at Bojana’s university that Serbia had just been included in the ERASMUS programme. As soon as she learned this, she decided to apply for the educational opportunities provided by the programme. Initially she was given an opportunity to benefit from the Jean Monnet programme which is part of ERASMUS+. It is dedicated to promoting excellence in EU studies in higher education around the world to build bridges between academics, researchers and EU policymakers. Bojana says that being part of Jean Monnet contributed considerably to the quality of her Master’s degree. “For example, lecturers from the EU came to teach us their vision of European integration. We also got textbooks for free. That is no small thing for unemployed students,” she says. Expanding horizons However, this was not enough for Bojana. She wanted to learn more about EU policies and EU integration, and she wanted to expand her cultural perspective; preferably at the university of an EU country. She chose to apply for an ERASMUS+ exchange at the University of Konstanz in Germany, and she was accepted. “It was like a dream come true,” she says.

“I had a class about leadership, which was really interesting. It was different from anything I could learn at my home university. This class really offered a different perspective on how a real leader should behave.”

In the future, she plans to get more involved in the EU administration to support the idea behind the European Union. “My whole professional life and future aspirations are about the EU, and starting the journey with the ERASMUS+ programme was the best investment in my life,” she says. Bojana describes her experience in Germany as “life changing”. She explains that for her it was essential to learn more about different cultures and to experience first-hand what it is like to live and study in a multicultural environment. Being surrounded by people from other countries in Europe – and the world – helped a lot in this. For Bojana, it was also important to see how universities function in Germany and how they present curricula. “For example, I had a class about leadership, which was really interesting. It was different from anything I could learn at my home university. This class really offered a different perspective for me on how a real leader should behave,” she says. Bojana was also impressed by the welcome at the university and in particular, with the structure and individual care for every international student enrolled. Promoting the spirit of reconciliation Bojana currently works for the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) that promotes the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between youth in the Western Balkans region. “My ERASMSUS+ experience really helped me adapt quickly to RYCO’s multicultural work environment,” she said. “It shouldn’t be hard to guess after you’ve had the chance to hear my story, that RYCO was established with the support of the European Commission.”

Living the dream: showcasing fashion on the big stage

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A young fashion designer represents Fashion Weekend Skopje at the Berlin Fashion week with the support of an EU-funded programme Sofija Urumović, 28, is a young but successful fashion designer. Her interest in fashion started early. “As a child, my dream was to be omnilingual, which means having the ability to speak, or to understand, all languages. It goes without saying that this is impossible; however, over the years I have realised that fashion is one of the most powerful and universal languages in the world and that it could be used as a great means of self-expression and communication,” she says. As a result, when Sofija turned 18, she decided to study fashion and went on to finish both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Her early experience with fashion was solely from magazines, so she thought of fashion as a fairy tale. However, she says that fashion is not an easy craft and later she encountered many challenges. Most significant of these was the need for more financial resources and a network of associates to present her work to a broader audience. The latter was addressed with the support of an EU-funded project. “Over the years I have realised that fashion is one of the most powerful and universal languages in the world and that it could be used as a great means of self-expression and communication.” The world of fashion opens Through an open call, Sofija was chosen by United Fashion project partner, Fashion Weekend Skopje, to represent the Balkan region. Sofija has only positive words for the project, saying that the whole experience has been “amazing”. As part of the project, she – like young fashion designers from other countries – was provided with an opportunity to showcase her work during the Berlin Fashion Week in 2018 and ModaLisboa in 2020. Making connections “In Berlin, I met this great agent for the German market who gave me very valuable advice from a business perspective, while in Lisbon I was able to witness a smaller team organising a big fashion event and offering a big platform for young creatives,” she says. Showcasing her work on a platform like the Berlin Fashion Week is an experience she describes as the dream of every young fashion designer, but Sofija also had other benefits from the project. She says perhaps the most important one is making new connections, and meeting people with whom she says she is “regularly in touch for friendship but also future professional cooperation”.

“I think what this whole pandemic has taught us is that what we are doing in general to the planet we live on is really irresponsible and so shameful. We should change the way we function.”

United Fashion is carried out by a cluster of European fashion support associations: the Baltic Fashion Federation (Latvia), Fashion Council Germany, Fashion Weekend Skopje (North Macedonia), Flanders DC (Belgium), MAD Brussels (Belgium), Maison de Mode (France), and ModaLisboa (Portugal). The aim of the project is to enhance fashion designer culture across Europe so that it is more business-oriented, enhancing competitiveness internationally without limiting creativity. The United Fashion project is supported through Creative Europe programme of the European Union. Right now, Sofija is developing some new ideas, but she wants to keep her brand small and grow steadily. “I think what this whole pandemic has taught us is that what we are doing in general to the planet we live on is really irresponsible and so shameful. We should change the way we function. In particular, the fashion industry has so many flaws. Now the situation has forced everyone, even the big players, who are the game-changers of the industry, to rethink the way we work and to set new foundations for a new fashion system,” she says. Through several international network events and trans-disciplinary training workshops, more than 150 fashion designers had the opportunity to benefit from the United Fashion project by showcasing their collections, getting to know and understand several European markets, and developing new skills in fashion tech, sustainable fashion, production, craftsmanship and business models.

Growing across borders with new management skills

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A successful young Albanian entrepreneur gains access to the international market with support of an EU-funded programme If she had followed her parents’ advice, Edona would be an engineer now. Both of her parents were science graduates and their wish was for their daughter to follow the same path. But she picked a different profession. She describes beginning to fill out the application form for the Engineering faculty. “I knew that this was a big decision that would probably impact the rest of my life. I had this feeling that I should not proceed with filling in the form, and I stopped,” she says. She walked out and went to the Economics faculty, where she filled in the application form for business administration. This might have seemed like a sudden decision, but it wasn’t. For some time Edona had had a hidden passion to become a business manager. Ten years later, her decision has been vindicated. Becoming a successful manager Her enrolment at the Economics faculty was the beginning of a successful career. A few years after enrolling, she became an assistant professor and was later promoted to the position of Professor. At the same time, she began work in a consultancy firm where she was soon promoted to managing partner. “Our market was limited to Albania and Kosovo, and I was interested in exploring other markets as our staff, mainly female, is competent and ready to handle more work” The company provides advice to businesses on the implementation of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standards and on developing project proposals for local and international donor grant schemes. They provide services to around 200 businesses annually and the company is growing. “However, our market was limited to Albania and Kosovo, and I was interested in exploring other markets as our staff, mainly female, is competent and ready to handle more work,” she says. Access to international markets, in particular in a consultancy business, is a challenging endeavour. This is even more the case in a country such as Albania, still facing many economic challenges. Edona needed help. A friend advised her to seek support the Entrepreneurial Network of Growth Initiatives (ENGI4NE-2). This EU-funded project provided young entrepreneurs with an opportunity to spend time with an experienced entrepreneur abroad to learn new skills in business management. Improving skills with new technology Initially, Edona was not sure if she should participate, as she thought it might take too much of the time she needed for the management of her company. Eventually, she was convinced, and once again she made a decision to apply for something she does not regret. She choose a host company in Austria as she was already doing her PhD there. “But I was interested in a smaller company like ours and not more prominent corporations such as Deloitte or similar big international companies. In a smaller company, the challenges would be similar to our challenges, and I was interested to see how they tackled them,” she explains.

“It was an experience that opened my eyes and made me understand how fast things are developing in our sector. In particular, I learned about improving communication using technology.”

The project was supported by Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, which is an EU-funded cross-border exchange programme giving new or aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in other participating countries. The host benefits from fresh perspectives and opportunities to build links with foreign partners and learn about new markets. Albania takes part in the programme, along with other countries in the Western Balkans. She says that she learned a lot from her stay, which spanned seven months. “It was an experience that opened my eyes and made me understand how fast things are developing in our sector. In particular, I learned about improving communication using technology,” she says. Edona explains that up until then she had communicated with her clients as well as inside her team with more traditional methods. Thanks to the experience in Austria she introduced applications such as Slack for internal communication, and Google Drive for communication with her clients. As a result, her company is now much more efficient in functioning remotely, which has turned out to be particularly useful in the new environment imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the primary purpose of her participation in the project was to explore and learn how to access international markets. Edona was successful in this regard too, as during her stay she was able to sign an Austrian company as a client. Growing entrepreneurs Alongside Edona, another 126 entrepreneurs (75 new and 51 established) benefitted from this project in successful relationship exchanges. The implementing consortium of the project is geographically mixed, ensuring full coverage of destinations that are attractive to new entrepreneurs, including Albania and Turkey. The lead partner was Confindustria Ancona (CA) in Italy, with the Tirana Regional Development Agency the partner in Albania.

Erasmus+ exchange inspires a new generation of programmers

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Meet Kosta – an up-and-coming IT star from North Macedonia who wants to harness technology to change the world for the better Kosta Gjorgjevski is an 18-year-old from Skopje, North Macedonia. Despite his young age, he has already become one of the best-known IT professionals in his country. He began programming when he was just ten years old. He explains that he used to play video games almost every day until he realised that he was just wasting his time. “I thought, why not do something more challenging? That is when I decided to develop video games of my own,” Kosta explains. Kosta worked on game development for some time. He was doing well, but as he grew older he felt that he should focus on more significant things. He knew that, if used properly, information technology can help change the world for the better.

“I thought, why not do something more challenging? That is when I decided to develop video games of my own.”

Making the world a better place This is when he decided to take programming much more seriously and quit developing video games. As part of a school project, Kosta developed a software-hardware system that detected poisonous gases in the air in an enclosed space. The system successfully detected toxic gases and notified people nearby that something was wrong. It also turned on ventilation systems to remove the hazard. This project was recognised as one of the most innovative projects in North Macedonia by the Fund for Innovations. “After this project, I felt very good, I felt that I was doing something useful with my skills,” says Kosta. When he was 15 years old, he won an important award at the Codefest Tech Hackathon national competition. As part of this competition, Kosta, along with the team, developed an application for an historical video game about the Cold War. Kosta explains that the idea was to find a historical event, develop a video game around it, and make it somehow educational. In the end, Kosta and his team won second place overall and first place in user-interface and user-experience design. Following these accomplishments, he won a number of other awards – a hugely impressive achievement at such a young age.

“These experiences have had a huge impact on my vision for the future. I still need to learn new things, and I keep on looking for more learning opportunities.”

ERASMUS+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion provides opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, and gain experience abroad. However, his journey to success was not an easy one. His family firmly supported him, but nevertheless, there were other challenges that he had to deal with. One of the main challenges was learning the complicated maths that is crucial for computer programming. He had to take a range of private courses to improve his skills in maths and related topics. Kosta explains that these learning experiences made an essential change for him professionally and personally. “These experiences have had a huge impact on my vision for the future. I still need to learn new things, and I keep on looking for more learning opportunities,” he says. Barcelona inspiration Last year, he applied for and won an opportunity to join a study trip to Barcelona. The trip was financed and supported by the European Union’s ERASMUS+ programme. Kosta and other young people spent 16 days in Barcelona and visited universities that work on software for Formula 1 cars. They also visited the SEAT car factory, where they learned about mechatronics – robots creating cars. “It was extraordinary and fascinating,” Kosta says. Kosta explains that the experience in Barcelona inspired him to create new projects and motivated him even more to pursue a career in IT. At the same time, while he was in Barcelona, he also visited museums and other cultural sites, met new friends and expanded his cultural horizons. Kosta now plans to study and pursue his career in computer engineering to include work on hardware and software programming. “I have chosen this because it will enable me to create devices that are really innovative,” he says.

Some habits don’t change: a childhood passion turned into a profession

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Through Erasmus+ Florjan Muhaj from Albania has turned his childhood passion for political science into a professional career Politics has been Florjan’s passion since childhood. While his friends were kicking a ball around, Florjan was attracted to news and political events. He became involved in the political science club of his school when he was only 14. Later he joined the school senate and was elected President. He continued his political activism in high school where he promoted environmental issues among his fellow pupils. “Perhaps some things appear in early childhood and just get stronger and stronger,” Florjan says. And when the time came to choose his course of study at university, he had no doubts about which faculty to choose. He enrolled in the University of Tirana’s Political Science course which, according to Florjan. was a ‘rather new programme of study’. It combined his interests in democratisation, political action and international relations.

“I got so involved in the process that I was deeply convinced that in a few months I would be among the first cohort of students to start the programme. And I succeeded!”

Career choices Florjan was very clear about wanting a career in the area of policy-making and diplomacy with a focus on the Western Balkans and EU integration and not so much on political parties. He was also well aware that this was a more specific area of study that demanded a specific type of knowledge and skills that were not fully available at his faculty. In 2017, one of his professors advised him to consider an opportunity for studying abroad for a Master’s degree in Political Science, Integration and Governance through a scholarship scheme funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. He began preparing the application documents. “I got so involved in the process that I was deeply convinced that in a few months I would be among the first cohort of students to start the programme. And I succeeded!” Florjan says, and the excitement of that time is still audible in his voice. He chose to study in Austria. “The University of Salzburg was at that time the only university that offered first-year courses within the programme. Then for my second-year studies, I had the opportunity to choose among the Western Balkan partner universities, but how could they compete with the University of Salzburg?! I would choose it a million times,” Florjan says. New approaches He speaks with enthusiasm of the approach in Salzburg. “There was a lot of choice in terms of the course modules, almost as if you could design the course yourself – something that does not happen everywhere, and especially not in the Western Balkans where you have a fixed course programme with only a few choices.”

“I returned to Albania with a great deal of knowledge about the EU, its policies and theories; and a boundless love for Salzburg.”

Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion provides opportunities for over four million Europeans to study, train, and gain experience abroad. While studying in Austria, he also had the chance to visit some of the key European Union institutions – in Luxembourg, and Brussels. For him, this was a very productive week, as he had the opportunity to see at first-hand how the EU and its institutions work. “I returned to Albania with a great deal of knowledge about the EU, its policies and theories; and a boundless love for Salzburg and Austria, with great everlasting friendships. I was very enthusiastic about putting into practice everything I had learned,” he says. A career begun Florjan is now 25 years old and works in his hometown’s local government, at the EU Integration and Foreign Aid Unit, which is a new structure in all the municipalities of Albania. Over the past two years, he has worked hard in his municipality to increase the possibilities for European integration. “I have co-organised more than 25 activities, with around 1,000 participants in total, promoting European values, young people’s civic engagement, and important World and European Days, and informing citizens about the EU’s integration process and its institutions and policies,” he says with pride.

Yes you Cannes!

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In a competition for film buffs, a fashion designer from Sarajevo won the opportunity to visit Cannes Film Festival Milan Senić, 39, is a Sarajevo-born professional fashion designer. Milan is also a film-lover, but usually he does not have time to watch movies because of his work. Last year he saw an announcement posted on Facebook by a project called the European Film Challenge. The announcement invited audiences to watch ten European movies over ten weeks on any kind of legal media. After watching the films, contestants had to share their cinephile experience on social networks and collect points. The contestant who collected the highest number of points would have the opportunity to experience a major film festival, with costs fully covered by the project.

“As they say: if you want to do something, you’ll find the time; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

A good habit Milan decided to take the challenge and started to select and watch movies. Before the challenge he was one of those people who wanted to watch more films but didn’t have time for it. “The challenge helped me to re-establish a good habit of watching films on a regular basis. As they say: if you want to do something, you’ll find the time; if you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” Milan enjoyed the experience of the contest, as he is a big fan of European film. In search of the best European films, he says he found out about a lot of interesting directors and movies. Until then he had generally preferred Spanish, Italian and French films but during the challenge he says he was delighted, for example, to discover Hungarian films that he had not seen before. Top prize His efforts produced results. Milan was lucky enough to win the competition and an opportunity to be part of the Cannes Film Festival. “I had some information about Cannes but when I went there, I was shocked to see how everything was so expensive and beautiful. It was an amazing experience to see that glamour and luxury,” he says. For most people at Cannes, the Festival is a business trip to meet with producers, directors and other film industry partners. In this sense, Milan had an advantage: he was able to do nothing but enjoy the festival and watch the films. But he also had an opportunity to benefit professionally from visiting the festival. Cannes is famous as a film festival where fashion is an essential part of everything, and it was an exceptional experience to see it all live. “It was a beneficial professional experience too, as Cannes is very important both for the film and fashion industries,” says Milan.

“It was a beneficial professional experience too, as Cannes is very important both for the film and fashion industries.”

Promoting European film Milan was just one of the winners from participant countries who were part of the project. Following the success of previous editions, the project hit the next stage in audience development and community growth. This includes four main innovative ideas to be applied: a film-influencer programme and content curation platform, cinema-lovers events and a cinephile market study that digests the data gathered in the contest. The partner countries include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Serbia. The European Film Challenge project is funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe Programme that supports the cultural and creative sectors.