By Genc Caushi
During and after the WBF Secretariat Partnership Workshop on May 23rd with Grantees from 24 Winning organizations of WBF Second Call, the participants from all WB6 Contracting Parties took advantage of this unique opportunity to know better each other and make new friends from all over the region.
Mrs. Kaltrina Ajeti from the lead organization in Pristina, Kosovo Institute of Media and Communication, said: “The workshop was a good opportunity for cooperation and exchange of experiences taking into consideration the challenges our region is facing in the media industry. I believe that through these projects, which are going to be implemented in the WB, of course we will intensify our cooperation among the organizations in the region and in the long run our societies will benefit from it as well.” This project will be implemented in cooperation with two other partner organizations from Podgorica and Prilep.
While Mrs. Irina Ljubic from the lead organization in Belgrade, Jelena Santic Foundation, though it was her first visit in Tirana, appeared quite relaxed when she said: “This workshop highlighted all our joint energy to bring changes and improvements in the Western Balkans. Everybody was friendly and opened for discussion. I have met initiatives that will change the perspective of regional cooperation and put an end to stereotypes that we face in the region.” This project will be implemented in cooperation with two other partner organizations from Pristina and Sarajevo.
More at ease looked Mr. Darko Nabakov from the lead organization in Skopje, Association for Creative Documentary Film Promotion MAKEDOX, on his second visit to Tirana, said: “Once again during the workshop we realized that we are sharing the same stories, problems and needs, and that is why it was simple to understand each other and inspire each other at the same time for more success stories.” This project will be implemented in cooperation with two other partner organizations from Tirana and Belgrade.
Mr. Milos Mracevic from the lead organization in Podgorica, SWC Jadran, said: “This workshop was excellent. It was a new experience for us but at the same time it will help a lot in the running of the project during its implementation phase. It was also an excellent opportunity to meet new people from our region, as well as people from the Western Balkans Fund Secretariat and from now on we are looking forward to a great cooperation and new partnerships in our region.” This project will be implemented in cooperation with three other partner organizations from Skopje, Vojvodina and Banja Luka.
While Mrs. Ivona Ivkovic from the lead organization in Sarajevo, Association for Digitalization and Informatization of Cultural Heritage DIGI.BA, said: “It was a pleasure to meet with all these colleagues from the region. We are very happy to be one of the grantees from Sarajevo, and we hope that this will be the start of one permanent and successful cooperation. We are looking forward to working with regional partners on this project and share our experience and ideas among each other”. This project will be implemented in cooperation with three other partner organizations from Tirana, Belgrade and Podgorica
Mr. Ledion Krisafi, from the lead organization in Tirana, Albanian Institute for International Studies, said: “The workshop was excellent. Not only to know more about the guidelines and the implementation of the projects, but most of all to get to know more each other, to share experiences, ideas, possibilities for cooperation. In this regard, the workshop was a very good opportunity.” This project will be implemented in cooperation with two other partner organizations from Skopje and Belgrade.
The 24 winning projects represent a wider regional drive, since more than 80 organizations from all over the region will cooperate during the implementation phase of the project. Thus, a big number of organizations from the WB will come together for sharing their vision related to regional cooperation activities aiming to enhance people-to-people contacts in our region.
The author is WBF Media and PR Officer
