The Open Society Foundation (OSF) Alumni network in Serbia has continued to network and exchange the ideas in 2020. The first in a series of gatherings was organized on Thursday, January 30, during which the alumni had the opportunity to discuss the European Social Survey, the postulates of effective communication, and the possibilities of using the R programming language in the social sciences and humanities.

Drawing upon the experience of the Belgrade Open School team connecting the OSF alumni network with decision makers, it decided to put in the spotlight the allumni expertise throughout 2020 organizing in collaboration with the OSF a series of seminars and lectures. During the first meeting, Dragan Stanojevic, an alumnus and assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, presented the European Social Survey (ESS), as well as the results of this survey in which Serbia was included for the first time. The ESS is a cross-national survey conducted across Europe. Every two years, face-to-face interviews are conducted with citizens on a representative sample. The survey measures attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in more than thirty countries and is supported by the European Commission through the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC).

Along with this inspirational presentation, alumni had the opportunity to learn how to present their results effectively to decision makers and why they need to get out of strictly academic circles. This workshop was led by Stevan Vujasinovic. Then, at a workshop with Tatjana Kecovic, they went through ways they could use the R programming language in their research.

The potential of the alumni network of the Open Society Foundation is recognized by the Belgrade Open School and the Foundation itself. That is why BOS has been making efforts over the years to harness the potential of alumni networks expressed in expertise and translate into concrete results which can be further useful for regional decision makers to strengthen economic and democratic potential of the region.