Dijana Krkotić has a decade of experience working in the tourism sector. Although she has been the owner of a tourist organization herself for two years, this year she spent two months working in someone else's, in Turin. Thus, in Italy, it acquired a new partner, and the Italian agency a new destination for its clients.
Diana's stay in Italy is part of a program for young entrepreneurs, thanks to which she spent two months in Turin practically free of charge - she had pocket money, a paid apartment... During that time, according to the rules of the program, the agency that hosted her had no financial obligations to Diana.
Erasmus for young entrepreneurs is one of the mobility programs that allows young people to travel practically for free, get to know other cultures, acquire new and improve acquired skills... In Montenegro, there are several partner organizations through which interested parties can apply for one of these programs, and among them are the Association for Democratic Prosperity ZID (ADP ZID), the non-governmental organization Prima, and the Don Bosco Youth Center...
Erasmus for young entrepreneurs is a program of the European Commission. The program enables future entrepreneurs or those who have founded their own company in the past three years to gain skills and experience in doing business in another country. Young entrepreneurs who have a company less than three years old or who are just planning to start a business can participate in the program. To be able to register as a host, entrepreneurs must have a company for more than three years.
"The goal of the project is to stimulate as many young, newly determined entrepreneurs as possible to take a decisive step and found a new company," Mirela Kalamperović from ADP ZID told "Vijesta".
The program covers the costs of new entrepreneurs for a stay of one to six months, while host entrepreneurs do not have any financial obligations.
"Numerous exchanges have led to long-term cooperation between entrepreneurs as well as to the internationalization of their business," says Kalamperović.
The program, he adds, makes new companies more durable, competitive and sustainable.
"The exchange really helped me... I wish there were more similar programs," says Dijana Krkotić and adds that the agency that hosted her has already provided a group of tourists to visit Montenegro for September 2020.
Trainings, trainings, exchange...
The European Commission also finances programs that encourage the development of practical skills and the employability of young people. Such is Erasmus+ Youth in Action, a program offered by ADP ZID and Don Bosco.
"The program relies on informal education and enables young people to participate in various youth exchanges, conferences, volunteer services, trainings, seminars..." explains Jela Radović from Don Bosco.
Thanks to that program, that organization sends around 50 young people out of the country every year.
"This is a great way for young people to get to know new cultures, make friends with peers from other countries and expand their knowledge in different fields," she says.
There are short-term programs of seven to 10 days - these are usually trainings, trainings and seminars, but also programs that last up to three weeks (youth exchanges).
ADP ZID explains that there is no age limit for participation in trainings, trainings and seminars, unless it is defined by the invitation. Young people between the ages of 13 and 30 can apply for youth exchanges. The program covers the costs of participation.
Longer stay outside Montenegro through volunteering programs
A longer stay abroad is made possible by the program of the European Initiative for Solidarity, formerly the European Voluntary Service. Volunteer projects enable individual or group volunteering abroad from two months to one year, for young people aged 18 to 30.
"Projects should respond to important social challenges, contribute to strengthening the community while at the same time enabling volunteers to gain useful experience, skills and competencies for their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, in order to improve their employability", says Kalamperović.
Volunteer projects enable individual or group volunteering abroad from two months to one year, for young people aged 18 to 30
The program covers all costs, volunteers are supported by mentors and supervisors, and are guaranteed to attend a language course in the country where they are.
Thanks to that program, 19-year-old Lithuanian Ieva Škilyte is currently staying in Don Bosco. She helps in organizing and carrying out activities for children that are implemented in the Don Bosco Youth Center. He will stay in Montenegro until September 2020.
Animator and volunteer from the Don Bosco Center Dušan Đukić is a volunteer in Ljubljana, within the project "Social inclusion of young people through circus".
"Dušan has already acquired juggling skills in 'Cirkus Bosko', and in Ljubljana he joined the group 'Fuskabo', which is known to the Slovenian public through the show 'Slovenia has talent'. His project lasts 11 months," says Jela.
Don Bosco is also included in the "Don Bosco Volunteers" program, which is financed by the Government of the Republic of Germany. Within this program, young people from Germany can spend a year in a foreign country.
"Klara Ekert is currently staying here, who, like Ieva, helps with the activities of the Youth Center. She is also actively involved in the work of the School for Foreign Languages - Don Bosco Center for Education and Upbringing, she attends classes as a native speaker, so participants can hear the living language, learn directly from her about the culture and customs of Germany, practice conversation with her and improve pronunciation. Klara is the third volunteer staying at DBC through this program," says Jela.
All volunteers, whether they are with them or in another country, are provided with accommodation and money for food and pocket money.
Another volunteering program is the international camps, through which volunteers work on tasks of public interest for the community, improve their skills... The camps are non-profit, thematically different, and the most numerous are 'ecological'. Volunteer camps are often research, i.e. study, artistic, social - such as working with children, people with disabilities, the elderly..., architectural, involve renovation or construction work, agricultural camps are also organized, and camps during which volunteers take care of animals... .
Anyone who is over 18 years old and speaks English or the language of the country they are going to can register for the camps.
There are also programs for younger volunteers, from 14 to 17 years old, the so-called teenage camps. Volunteers pay travel expenses and visas (if needed), and accommodation and food at the camp are provided. A number of camps have so-called additional participation (participation fee) with which volunteers help the implementation of the camp and which is paid to the camp organizer upon arrival at the camp.
Schooling in the USA, Boy Scouts...
Mobility programs also enable young people to study abroad. Anđela Bulatović from Podgorica, as a scholarship holder of the Flex program for high school students, spent one school year in the United States of America, where all the expenses of her stay were paid.
"The hardest thing for me to explain is how it is that all expenses are covered. Your ticket there and back is paid for, accommodation with a family is provided, you have three meals a day, a monthly allowance of 100 dollars, and an annual allowance of 300 dollars for extraordinary expenses, insurance is covered...", Anđela explains.
Thanks to that program, about 15 students from Montenegro stay in the USA every year, and the tests are usually during the fall.
According to Peko Vukadinović, the Union of Scouts of Montenegro, which has over 2.000 members, is also working very hard on youth mobility. In the past year alone, Scouts have visited more than 20 countries.
Peko has been in the scouts since the age of seven, he comes from, as he says, a working-class family, and thanks to the scouts, he has visited over 50 countries, improved his English through exchanges... He says that independence is the greatest strength of a young man and a scout.
"We teach children how to think for themselves, to fight..." he says. Part of the program that allows young people to live abroad for a while, volunteer, work, get an education... was presented at the panel "Youth Mobility in Montenegro", which was recently organized by the NGO "Prima" in Podgorica.
Success and grades are not the most important factors in selecting a candidate
Jelena Jovanović is the coordinator of the Program for informal education and youth mobility in the NGO Prima. It all started with her application for one of the Erasmus programs eight years ago. She was 15 then.
"I was supposed to go to another country for seven days, I didn't know anyone, I was afraid if I would manage, if I spoke English well enough... But, throughout the program, the trainers encourage you to express yourself as you know how, no one judges your opinion or knowledge, it is important that you are there and that you participate as much as you are comfortable with. I survived that first exchange and since that day - I haven't stopped," she said. He adds that all competitions of NGO Prima are public and that candidates are never asked about their success in school or college. "It would be great if everyone were great students, but that's not the case, nor is that the most important thing, it's important that we hear your opinion on a topic, that you are free to share it...", says Jelena.
Parents, there is no room for fear
Anđela, who spent a school year in the USA as a scholarship holder of the Flex program, says that young people are interested in that program, but that she often hears from her peers that they don't understand their parents either. He explains that the participants in the program do not travel alone, that they have an escort, that they are accommodated in families that have passed checks - just like the candidates. Each student is assigned a coordinator who also communicates with the student's family in Montenegro.
"And you are safer at school than here. Here, if I don't feel like going to class, I can just go to the cafe across the street. In America, if I'm not in class, they immediately call to tell my family that I didn't come, so they don't know where I am," she says.
For the successful completion of the Flex program, it is necessary to complete at least 40 hours of volunteering during the exchange. Angela volunteered over 100 hours...
Bonus video:
