Building resilience by investing in qualifications and skills

Fanny Serée was born in France (Nice) in 1986. She studied in Science-Po Aix-en-Provence (Institute for Political Studies) and Institute for European Studies (Paris 8). Ms Seree worked in the field of culture and education in France and at the French Embassy in Pristina before coming to Brussels to work first on education and social policies at the European Committee of the Regions and at the European Commission (DG NEAR). In DG NEAR, she works in the Centre of Thematic Expertise on Economic Governance covering the three NEAR regions (enlargement, neighbourhood south and east) and with a focus on human capital development, social policies and Erasmus.

Edin was born in Podgorica. After finishing high school, he enrolled in the International Affairs department of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro. As a student, he was an active member of the student organisation MAPSS, where he was a member of the Governing Board. He received scholarship awards from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the German Marshall Fund within the Youth Trans-Atlantic Leaders program.

After graduating, Edin started working as a programme coordinator in NGO Civic Alliance and external associate of the Regional Network of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights. He has also served as civil society representative of at the Council of the State Agency for Electronic Media and in the Government's Operational body for the implementation of the communication strategy on European integration.

He was a member of the Working Group for the establishment of RYCO and heads up the local branch of RYCO in Podgorica.

Astrit has over 18 years’ experience in the civil society sector focusing on conflict prevention, peacebuilding and development related issues in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. He has been leading strategic development and management/oversight of complex programmes, budgets, and teams in the Western Balkans, Central Asia, Caucasus, Afghanistan, UK and USA. This includes working with Care International, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) among others.

His areas of expertise include democratisation, civil society development, elections, conflict resolution, community security, inclusive political processes, security and small arms, linking community-level peace and security with national and international policies and frameworks.

As a Board member to several NGOs since 2000, he has contributed to their organisational development and to enhancing their governance and accountability.

Emina was born in Luxembourg, but grew up in Montenegro. She is a Young European Ambassador, a political science student and a young activist. As a highly versatile person, she acts as a member of the volunteer, drama, and entrepreneurial clubs, as well as the literary and ecology sections. In addition to being committed to formal education, she is involved in various youth activities and youth NGOs.

When she was only 18 years old, Emina represented Montenegro in a public debate entitled “EU enlargement and the Western Balkans”, held at the European Commission. She participated in the ERASMUS+ youth and student exchange programme and has been involved in many events and projects on various topics such as: social inclusion, cross-sectoral youth policy, leadership, gender equality, climate change, European values, prejudices and stereotypes, the role of young people in the prevention of violent radicalism and extremism, etc.

Branislav graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he gained a B.A. in Economics. Simultaneously, he also successfully completed the University Business Academy in Novi Sad, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Sciences. More recently, he received aMaster’s degree in Political Sciences and International Affairs at the University of Belgrade.

In September 2015, he became an associate at the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also acted as liaison officer of the Russian Foreign Minister, during the annual ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Belgrade. In February 2016, Branislav, together with his family, created a small business called “But&Co”, a brand for traditional dry meat products, where he works nowadays as co-owner.

At the beginning of 2017, he received the award “Youth Hero” and he was introduced as “the most influential young person in the world of entrepreneurship in Serbia in 2017”. The award is handed out annually from NIS, the main Serbian oil company, as well as the Exit Foundation, one of the biggest non-governmental organisations in Serbia, specialised in youth relations and promotion of Serbia worldwide.

Several months afterwards, “But&Co” was declared “the best business from Serbia” by the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, the highest award for a business in the country.

Branislav is also member of the Organization of Serbian Students Abroad (OSSA) since 2010, where he had several leading roles at the head of the youth organisation.

Senad was born in Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina in 1988. In 1993, he moved with his parents to Sweden as a refugee. He spent almost his entire life in Sweden, apart from the summers that he would spend in Mostar.

He studied IT at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. After he received his bachelor's degree, he moved to San Francisco where he worked for one year. Then he moved back to Gothenburg and obtained his Master’s degree in “Entrepreneurship and Business design”.

Throughout his professional career, he constantly focused on trying to start his own business. At 20, he founded his first company. He developed websites with the ambition that they would drive enough traffic to sustain himself as his sole occupation. After about four years, he achieved that milestone.

At 25, he co-founded his second company on the initiative of his college professor. They built a Software as a Service platform to be used by schools in Sweden for evaluation of learning processes.

At 28, he co-founded ZenDev, his current IT consultancy that aims to deliver web and mobile applications on a world-class level.

Senad says about himself that he is driven by the creative process of creating great products.

Aleksandar comes from Skopje and is a founder & CEO at Photonyca, a startup focused on delivering the next generation concentrated solar power. Aleksandar studied at theFaculty of Computer Science and Engineering focusing on intelligent systems and robotics. While studying, he also several professional experiences in the Red Cross, YES Startup Incubator and in the Macedonian Energy Efficiency Center (MACEF), to gain additional business and industry experience. With his business and technical knowledge, he managed to win several national business competitions and he was one of the finalists of the Rockefeller Green Ideas, representing Macedonia internationally. In 2019, Aleksandar represented North Macedonia at UNLEASH in Shenzhen, China as an expert in the field of affordable and clean energy where with other distinguished experts from all over the world worked on developing sustainable energy solutions for the future.

Aurora Baba is an architect, researcher, neuro-architecture enthusiast, and human rights expert who works and lives in Tirana. She is the co-founder of NEUAR - Neuroscience for Urban Space and Architecture (www.neuar.org), a new initiative that binds architecture and neuroscience to create healthier cities, that heal, promote, and ensure physical, mental, and social health. Aurora has an interdisciplinary experience reflected in 10 years of experience in designing and managing construction and social projects, with multiple national and international stakeholders. She is the co- founder and board member of Euro Central Asian Lesbian Community where she has been working with local and international institutions such as the Council of Europe focusing on bringing lesbian geniuses to the world.

Srđan is a 23-year old law graduate from Novi Sad, Serbia. He has participated in moot court competitions in human rights and international criminal law. He also has experience in rhetoric and speech competitions. He spent a semester as an Erasmus+ mobility student in Valencia, Spain. He has been a youth activist and volunteer for more than five years. Currently, he is President of the Advisory Board of the European Youth Parliament Serbia (EYP) and a member of Advisory Board of the National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS). He has participated in over 40 conferences focusing on youth policies and youth engagement. He is a scholar of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Privrednik Humanitarian Foundation. His interests are youth, international law and relations, diplomacy and human rights.