Director-General of the Belgrade Open School (BOS) Vesna Đukić, in an interview for Nedeljnik magazine talked about the work of this civil society organization, connecting and cooperating with the business, public and civil sectors in Serbia and how BOS builds its network of partners and contributes to the development of our society. Furthermore, Vesna Đukić talked about the annual conference Move.Link.Engage, the educational program Future Studies, as well as the celebration of an important jubilee for this organization.

Belgrade Open School has been actively working in our civil society for almost 30 years and creating changes. What are your stories of these changes and who is involved?

 We are continuously working on creating a better society, and we are not alone in that endeavor, since we are including those who are affected by the changes. We recognize organizations, institutions, and companies ready to change and improve themselves, their environment, and their community and develop partnerships with them. That is why, only in the last few years, we have created a network of initiators of change, which consists of over 450 civil society organizations and the media from all parts of Serbia, with whom we work directly every day. They, like us, deal with a variety of topics of importance - from environmental protection, youth policy, improving employability to problems specific for a particular local community from Subotica, through Zajecar, Uzice to Nis, and Prijepolje - through their dedicated work we reach out to all our citizens. In this way, we create change together.

You emphasize that the civil sector and civil society organizations have an important role in all processes. Is it crucial to  support  that structure of society?

Supporting civil society is a very important part of our activities and I would like to single out just some of our projects - "Active Citizens - Better Society" which encourages greater citizen participation in advocacy processes, then "Green Incubator" which directly affects empowerment of the capacity of civil society organizations dealing with environmental issues, as well as the "Dialogue for Change" project, which is based on the establishment of partnerships between civil and public sectors. While, for example, the Youth and Media project strives to connect the media and the youth sector to further empower young people to be bearers of democratic processes, in this way we strive to provide financial, mentoring, and expert support to various civil society organizations from all over Serbia. As a mentor and partner, in 2021 alone, BOS is directly cooperating with over 90 civil society organizations and the media.

Your traditional Conference Move. Link. Engage. (MLE) has been gathering numerous initiators of change from all over Serbia for years. Are you satisfied with what you had the opportunity to achieve through MLE conferences?

Long-term and stronger integration of the drivers of social change was the main idea behind our seventh Move.Link.Engage. conference, which was different in many ways. MLE marked the stories of citizens on the other side, those who are not waiting for someone else to solve the problem for them, those who are not afraid to come forward and call to account. The absolute focus was on citizens and their initiatives for clean air, the rights of children and youth, the improvement of position of women, accessible social services, and media freedom. We also talked about improving the instruments and practices of cooperation between civil society and government officials, accepting civil society organizations as a legitimate and indispensable partner in decision-making processes and solving problems in the community, as well as the return of highly educated individuals. These topics are important and concern all of us, while the stories of active citizens were motivating and showed that small victories are an introduction to big ones. We are especially glad that our work has been supported during years by Sweden, through direct support to our initiatives.

Move.Link.Engage. conference closed with students of the 28th generation of Future Studies being awarded with their diplomas. What is this program like and what benefits does it bring to young people?

Future Studies is an academic program according to which the Belgrade Open School is recognized, primarily in academic circles, but it best reflects what BOS is and what it offers to young people! The essence of this program is an innovative approach to non-formal education through the provision of knowledge and skills needed for the future. The program itself is designed so that knowledge and skills are acquired and shared in a unique way, completely different from what students are accustomed to during formal education. I can proudly point out that this program has produced some of the most talented and valuable individuals who today are responsible for numerous successes and advances in our society, as they occupy important positions in the business, public, and civil sectors.

 How many BOS alumni are there and are they still involved in the work of the Belgrade Open School?

Today, our BOS Alumni Network has more than 1,300 such individuals who are still actively involved in our work.  All members of the Board of Directors of BOS come from our Alumni Organization, which shows not only their commitment to the Future Studies but also their involvement in the overall work and achievements of the Belgrade Open School. We are very much looking forward to the soon enrollment of the jubilee 30th generation - because as we like to say, we are not learning for school but life!

When we talk about dedicated work for almost three decades, how do you plan to mark this important jubilee, and do you have any goals that you want BOS to achieve in the coming years?

We tend to believe the old saying that the best is yet to come! Through our work, we empower individuals to be active citizens and drivers of social change by creating and implementing education, research, and information programs. At the same time, we are working to improve the process of development and implementation of public policies in areas such as energy, climate, and environment, improving employability, youth policy, European integration, good governance. These topics are our priority because average citizen of our country is affected by them daily, and they deserve additional attention. We will celebrate the jubilee by reminding ourselves of our primary goal - to build a better society based on knowledge, responsibility, and respect for the public interest through the involvement of all three sectors of society - public, business, and civil.