As part of the second cycle of the "Learn, Mobilize, Participate" program support program, the Belgrade Open School organized a three-day training in Vršac for local partners working on environmental protection and improvement.

The training was attended by representatives from 17 partner civil society organizations and media outlets whose projects are supported by the program.

The projects of the supported organizations and media will be implemented from September 2024 to April 2025 with the support of the BOŠ team. The activities of the local partners will focus on the development and reform of environmental protection areas—focusing on issues such as air quality, waste management, climate change, nature protection, and horizontal legislation.

Local partners will implement project ideas in Niš, Vršac, Leskovac, Kragujevac, Novi Sad, Valjevo, Smederevo, and Kraljevo.

During the training, selected organizations and media had the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills for successful financial and program management of projects, as well as for applying the methodology for monitoring the implementation of local public policies relevant to environmental protection.

In addition to the formal part of the training, we also visited the Vršac Mountain and the Vršac Tower, a site of exceptional natural beauty, and got to know all the partners with whom BOŠ will be collaborating in the coming months.

Participants in the training received promotional materials in eco-friendly bags made from upcycled textiles, produced in collaboration with the Women's Center Užice, as well as notebooks-coloring books with illustrations of protected areas, created in partnership with the Manonija manufactory, which uses recycled paper. This supports small, local producers who base their work on the principles of the circular economy.


The "Learn, Mobilize, Participate" program is part of a five-year project titled "Together for the Environment," implemented by the Belgrade Open School and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Young Researchers of Serbia, the international organization The Nature Conservancy, the ENECA association, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham).


Photos from the training can be found in the gallery.