The call for participants in the sixth cycle of the “Creative Mentoring” program, intended for current and future professionals in the field of culture, art, media, creative industries and related disciplines, is open today, and will last until Friday, September 17, 2021, until 23 hrs. 59 min.
“Creative Mentoring” is a unique mentoring program created in Serbia that affirms and encourages mentoring as a form of lifelong learning and exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences between established experts, mentors, and future professionals, mentees. The cycle VI of the “Creative Mentoring” program is regional – 25 new participants from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia will be selected to participate in the program – current and future professionals in the field of culture, art, media and creative industries, civil and private sector or participants working independently.
Potential participants should be active in one of the different areas of the most widely understood field of culture, which includes, but is not limited to: art, cultural heritage, creative industries, cultural policies, media, education in culture and through culture, management and production in culture, research in the field of culture, culture for children and youth, socially engaged culture and art, culturology, media production, international cultural cooperation and other related fields. Potential participants in the program can also come from the media.
Formal education in one of these areas is not a condition for participation, but the current or future work as well as the desire for further professional development. Participants in the program can also be individuals who are currently in the process of formal education, and the business status of potential participants is not relevant and there is no age limit. The program includes various types of support, so participants in the program have the opportunity to gain new knowledge and insights, as well as to work on achieving their professional and personal goals. The main activity of the program for participants (mentees) is the one-year individual support of the mentor, who is carefully selected in relation to the mentees’ needs, goals and challenges. The role of the mentor is to support the mentees in professional and personal development by sharing knowledge, experience and perspectives. Mentors in the program belong to different sectors, generations and professions, which allows mentees to gain specific knowledge and experience from other areas, which are often inaccessible to them.
In addition, the program provides relevant training, lectures and debates on current topics relevant to the work and development of participants, as well as connecting, networking and exchanging with other engaged and active professionals that the program brings together. In this way, participants are given the opportunity to exchange experiences and achieve potential cooperation through meetings with other mentees and mentors during the program. In addition, participants receive continuous support from the “Creative Mentoring” team and promotion of their work and achievements during the program, but also after that, when they become part of the alumni network.
The sixth cycle of the program will take place hybridly, with the two main events (Introductory Training and Medium-Term Gathering) within the program taking place live, and the remaining events and workshops will be held online.
NOTE: If epidemiological conditions require it, for the safety of all participants, the entire program will take place online.
During the call, those interested will have the opportunity to meet the team and the program of “Creative Mentoring”, as part of the online promotional event, that will be held on September 14, 2021, starting at 18:00 hrs.
The mentors in the previous, fifth cycle were:
- Olga Svoboda, Solution Development Director at TACK TMI, a global consulting and training company;
- Ivan Milivojev, one of the founders of several festivals in Serbia and the region, including EXIT festival, Warriors Dance Festival, Sea Dance Festival, R:EVOL:UTION festival and # DEV9T;
- Iva Čukić, director of the Institute for Urban Policies, founder and program director of the Street Gallery;
- Anđelka Janković, Marketing Manager of Bitef Festival;
- Riley Hammersly, Community Manager at Nordeus,
- Nathan Koeshall, director and co-founder of Catalyst Balkans, which supports the development and spread of philanthropy in the region,
- Mihailo Janković, then director of Nectar Group, winner of the Youth Leadership Development Award; while in the first four cycles the mentors were among others
- Lazar Džamić, creative strategist, until recently head of the brand strategy team at Google’s creative think-thank ZOO in London;
- Natali Beljanski, Executive Director of the Festival of Street Musicians from Novi Sad;
- Joachim Waern, Deputy Head of Mission of the Swedish Embassy in Belgrade;
- Miša Stojiljković, journalist, psychologist and media advisor;
- Ana Pejović, then project manager of the organization “Crocodile”,
- Tony O’Brien, former director of the British Council for the Western Balkans;
- Jasna Dimitrijević, director of the Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment;
- Milan Savić, director of the international saxophone festival “Belgrade Saxpirience”;
- Marija Desivojević Cvetković, Vice President of Delta Holding;
- Maja Lalić, creative director of “Mixer”;
- Branko Dimitrijević, professor and art theorist;
- Milan Petrović, then president of the Association of Managers in Serbia;
- Helen Laršon, the then cultural attaché of the Swedish Embassy in Belgrade, and many others.
Some of the alumni, participants in the previous, fifth cycle were:
- Miloš Milovanović, bass player and founder of the Bass Passion Festival, television producer and presenter;
- Katarina Ivakić, entrepreneur and initiator of the first body positivity community “Kataliza”;
- Maja Ćurčić, president of the association “Art Apparatus”, which teaches and empowers children and vulnerable social groups;
- Milesa Milinković, director of the international festival Uhvati film;
- Nikola Andonov, an architect who represented Serbia at the Venice Biennale in 2012 and the founder of FabLab;
- Marko Radenković, founder of the first design incubator in Serbia “Nova Iskra”;
- Lidija Ham Milovanović, Public Relations Associate of the National Museum in Belgrade;
- Vesna Ivanović, school librarian in the village of Mačkat;
- Andrija Mamutović, award-winning young pianist from Niš;
- Bojana Bačić, journalist of the daily newspapers “Danas”;
- Bojana Lukić, painter and author of children’s workshops in the field of visual culture;
- Dunja Pešut, professor of Serbian language and literature in Backa Topola;
- Dušan Kalejski, drama pedagogue from Zrenjanin;
- Marina Prohaska, digital communications manager in the nonprofit sector;
- Milan Marković, curator – pedagogue at the Museum in Smederevo;
- Lana Nikolić, Radio Belgrade journalist 202;
- Lidija Milašinović, director of the National Museum in Kikinda and many other talented, proactive and dedicated professionals.
You can find more about the alumni network on the page of the same name on the program’s website.
Participation in the program is free, thanks to mentors who contribute pro-bono to the program, as well as numerous sponsors and program partners who recognize the value and potential of “Creative Mentoring”. Applications are made by filling out and sending the form available here no later than September 17, 2021 at 23 hrs. 59 min., accompanied by a recent resume in your local or English language and proof of payment for a one-time application processing fee charged by the program. Details about the application process and call are available on the website. For additional information please contact us on social networks, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin or via email info@kreativnomentorstvo.com.
The program originated in Serbia and has been implemented and developed for nine years. Today, “Creative Mentoring” gathers a network of mentoring ambassadors who create a community of motivated and socially responsible individuals who contribute to the development of a society based on creativity, knowledge and cooperation.
The main sponsor of the sixth cycle is the US Embassy in Serbia, and the sponsors are Titan Cementara Kosjerić, Medicon, Coca Cola Hellenic, the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia, the Spanish Embassy in Belgrade and the Swedish Embassy in Belgrade. The main educational partner of the program is the company Gi Group HR Solutions, and the educational partners are Pamela von Sabljar, Epic Assistants and Stella Karl Ćosić. The project partners are: Nova Iskra, Mokrin House, Vizartis and the daily newspapers Danas.
