Creative Mentoring, a programme intended for people who shift the boundaries of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in Serbia and the region, is celebrating its first great jubilee: the completion of the first ten years of its work
Since it was founded back in 2012, Creative Mentoring has matured into a unique regional programme headquartered in Belgrade, which has to date brought together more than 300 participants who today comprise a cultural, creative and artistic network of our country and region.
The main celebration event was held on 22nd October at Belgrade’s Museum of Science and Technology, which is also where it all began, and the celebration brought together all participants to date, members of the Advisory and Honorary Council, sponsors and friends of the programme, as well as media representatives.
“In Serbia, the mentoring concept was for many years associated with academic studies and formal education, while – in the context of modern professional training – mentoring has become accessible to everyone, depending on their professional objectives. Participants in the Creative Mentoring programme recognised their own need – on their career development path as artists, cultural workers, journalists or cultural creatives – to acquire certain knowledge that they cannot gain in the spheres of formal education in Serbia, but rather must acquire this knowhow from those who have already traversed the same career path. Through participation in the programme, all mentees receive the opportunity to spend a year working continuously with mentors, experts and professionals from the field in which they want to perfect their skills, which is the reason this programme is so special,” noted programme director Dragana Jevtić.
The mission of this programme, which is completely free of charge for all participants, is to spread the idea of mentoring, to empower individuals to master new knowledge through mentoring discussions, and to support and contribute to the development of the sectors of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in the country and around the region
The mission of this programme, which is completely free of charge for all participants, is to spread the idea of mentoring, to empower individuals to master new knowledge through mentoring discussions, and to support and contribute to the development of the sectors of culture, the arts, the creative industries and the media scene in the country and around the region.
The current 6th cycle is also being implemented within regional frameworks, so alongside Serbia there are also participants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. A large number of the participants represent big names of the local and regional culture, science, business, arts and media scenes.
The work of the Creative Mentoring team is additionally recognised in a broader context, as evidenced through the numerous invitations to provide support to the launching and implementing of other mentoring programmes in the region and across Europe.