On the occasion of the launch of Social Impact Award (SIA), the program that supports social entrepreneurship of young people in Montenegro, the NGO Center for Youth Education organized on March 14 an event in Podgorica that brought together representatives of various sectors from Montenegro, the region and Europe.
The event, which was ceremonially opened by the Minister of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro, Ms. Šćepanović, gathered domestic and international partners in the project – representatives of state institutions, the scientific and academic community, the business sector, young people, as well as representatives of youth and civil society from of Montenegro, the region and Europe.
In addition to the introductory presentations, two panel discussions were organized on how to further develop social entrepreneurship and how to systematically find ways to employ young people within this concept in the future. One of the panelists of the discussion entitled “The importance of the contribution of the civil sector to the development of the social community” was Neven Marinović, director of the Smart Kolektiv. The panels featured the representatives of innovation infrastructure entities in Montenegro and representatives of the civil sector from the countries of the region. Through their experiences and exchange of opinions, the panelists agreed that it is necessary to work on the affirmation and strengthening of social entrepreneurship in the country and the region, as well as that it is necessary to develop policies and mechanisms of long-term support for social entrepreneurs. This type of entrepreneurship as such can contribute to achieving the goals of sustainable development and promote the development of science and innovation among young people in our country.
About the Social Impact Award program:
Applications for the largest European support program for youth social entrepreneurship – Social Impact Award (SIA) will be opened on March 21, and all young people between the ages of 15 and 30, whose ideas must correspond to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), will be able to apply.
All interested participants will have the opportunity to participate in more than 20 educational workshops, receive mentoring support, while the winners of the competition will also receive initial capital for the realization of the idea in the amount of 1,500 euros, as well as the opportunity to present the acquired knowledge and skills at the international SIA summit, which is being held in Belgrade this year.
The Social Impact Award (SIA) represents the largest European youth social entrepreneurship support program launched in 2009 by Impact Hub Vienna, in partnership with the Erste Foundation and the University of Business and Economics in Vienna.
This international project is implemented simultaneously on 3 continents (Europe, Africa, Asia), in 18 countries, where more than 12,000 young innovators gather annually, and who, through teamwork, establish more than 230 social enterprises per year. During the previous cycle of the implementation of the SIA program in 2022 in Montenegro, more than 40 different trainings and workshops were held in 15 Montenegro municipalities and through the process itself over 1,000 young people were involved, finally producting 33 entrepreneurial ideas.
The Social Impact Award (SIA) project in Montenegro is implemented by the NGO Center for Youth Education, with the general patronage of Erste Bank AD Podgorica, the Ministry of Science and Technological Development, the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro, Five Group, MTEL and the Capital City of Podgorica. In addition to the general sponsors, the partners of the program are Coca-Cola HBC Montenegro, Mercator-CG, the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Neregelia and UNDP Montenegro. The program is supported by The Chedy Luštica Bay, as well as the University of Montenegro, the University of Donja Gorica and the University of the Mediterranean.
Interested participants can find all information about the project, how to apply and the next stages on the website: https://sia.click/me, as well as on social networks under the account SIA_Montenegro (Instagram).
