While the March activities of the project ′′Reintegration – support for sustainable (re)integration of returnees in Serbia′′ are being held according to the plan, we would like to take a look back and remind ourselves of the activities that took place in February.
Reintegration workshops
After a short break, workshops were restarted in the good neighborhood clubs in Novi Pazar, Sjenica, and Tutin, to the general delight of children and parents from the returnee population. The workshops were extremely well received and attended, and two coverages were broadcasted by national and regional TV stations.
At language workshops, children learned Serbo-Bosnian, French, English, and German language through interactive games and interesting tasks.
In mathematics classes, they learned more about the polygon, pyramid with support in mastering school materials and homework.
At biology lessons, they could learn about animal communication, bioluminescence, aposematic coloration, vocalization, cells…and through the outdoor lessons children learned about spiders and their way of life and hunting.
Learning about graphic design and verbal/non-verbal communication skills, children got familiar with the process of creating personal identity and had the chance to practice performing in front of the camera, with the help of the national television crew members.
Grants for self-employment
Contracts on granting subsidies for self-employment with 45 beneficiaries were solemnly signed in the past months, the beneficiaries had the opportunity to attend intensive business trainings and prepare a business plan, and 45 beneficiaries were supported in the realization of their idea through the allocation of funds for its implementation.
The value of grants per beneficiary is up to 3,000 euros. A total of 19 users from Novi Pazar were supported, 12 from Tutin and 14 users from Sjenica, of which 11 women received funds to start their own business. Within the project, another 45 grants will be awarded in the coming period, which makes a total of 90 awarded grants provided by the project. Some of the supporting ideas are work on a CNC machine, opening of light textile production, painting, and construction work.
We regularly collected personal stories of users who attended business trainings and reported on them.
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Seminar -“Supportive workshop – a guide to the implementation of the efficient learning strategies in teaching” took place in Novi Pazar on February 27th and 28th, 2021.
43 participants – a lecturers from Novi Pazar, Sjenica, and Tutin, engaged in the project – had the opportunity to expand their knowledge on the implementation of more effective learning strategies in teaching through an accredited program from the ZUOV (Institute for the Improvement of the Education and Upbringing) catalog for the needs of professional improvement of teachers.
As part of the Ministry of Education catalog, this program refers to continuous education of the teachers, educators, and professional associates, through providing support in trainings, in order to improve overall teaching and upbringing of children.
The seminar structure has been adjusted according to the needs of teachers and students in difficult conditions of the pandemic (shortened duration of classes, online classes, lack of continuity in work, etc.), to facilitate teaching and activate children’s capacity. The seminar program was based on learning scientific research and experiences of good practices from the neuropsychology domain in school. Through this seminar, the teaching staff engaged in the project as workshops gained additional knowledge that will help them adjust the methodology of working with children.
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Project ′′Reintegration – support for sustainable (re) integration of returnees in Serbia′′ is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Republic of Germany (BMZ).
The project holder is ASB South East Europe, IDC Serbia is the implementer of the project, and partners on the project are the City of Novi Pazar, Municipality Sjenica, Municipality Tutin in partnership with the Regional Developmental Agency of Sandzak – SEDA and Merhamet Sandzak.