The RISE Forum brought together young social entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners from across the Western Balkans in a shared mission — to mark six years of supporting youth who are driving positive change through innovation and entrepreneurship.
The event was held on October 23 at the European House in Belgrade, and was opened by Natacha Ephimoff, First Counselor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of France in Serbia; Arnaud Dauphin, Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) for the Western Balkans; Neda Stanković, Program Manager at Smart Kolektiv; and Marija Bulat, Head of the RYCO Local Branch Office in Serbia.
The opening part of the program was dedicated to presenting the results achieved by RISE over six years of fostering the development of social entrepreneurship in the region. The accomplishments were presented by Ardita Bonati, RISE Project Manager at RYCO, and Kelly Robin, Deputy Managing Director at Pulse Group.
The central part of the Forum featured three inspiring sessions that explored different perspectives on the development of social entrepreneurship. The first session, titled “Advocacy panel – Social Entrepreneurship in Serbia: Challenges and Opportunities,” gathered Dina Rakin from the Coalition for the Development of Solidarity Economy, Irena Đorđević from NALED, and Dragana Tar, independent consultant, moderated by Ardita Bonati (RYCO). The second session, “RISErs Success Stories,” highlighted inspiring journeys of young RISE entrepreneurs — Bojana Ivanović (Link in Bio), Andrea Darabašić (Career Launch), and Ivana Popović (DigiLand STEM), moderated by Lazar Tasić from Smart Kolektiv. The third session, titled “Social Entrepreneurship in Serbia – Mentoring Perspective,” gathered Dragana Jovčić (Uradi zaradi), Bojana Pražić (Centrala 24), and Vladimir Jovanović (SME Support), who shared their experiences of working with young social entrepreneurs, moderated by Davor Džakula (RYCO).
Through dialogue, exchange of experiences, and examples of good practice, the RISE Forum reaffirmed that social entrepreneurship plays a key role in building a more sustainable, inclusive, and connected Western Balkans region.
The RISE project is supported by the Agence Française de Développement, European Union (EU), Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ), PULSE (Groupe SOS). The RISE activities are implemented by six organizations from the Western Balkans: ARNO, Balkan Green Foundation, Nešto Više, Smart Kolektiv, IEC Tehnopolis, and Yunus Social Business Balkans.
