Belgrade Open School organized the Fair of School Teams for Career Guidance and Counseling for the third year in a row on May 31st 2017 in Belgrade, with the partnership support of the Solidar Foundation, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. The Fair brought together 16 of the best secondary school teams for career guidance and counseling from across Serbia, as well as other interested representatives from secondary schools and other institutions and organizations, in order to exchange experiences and thereby improve their work in this field. The Fair was also supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Tempus Office in Serbia – Euroguidance Centre.

The Fair was opened by Jelena Manić Radoičić from the Belgrade Open School, and in addition to her, opening remarks were given by Slavica Rakić from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Ana Stojanović from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Zorica Labudović on behalf of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Olivera Stepanović on behalf of Solidar Suisse/Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA) – Office in Serbia.

Zorica Labudović emphasized that career guidance and counseling is an integral part of modern education systems, as well as the importance of successful cooperation with the Belgrade Open School and other stakeholders in implementing the Career Guidance and Counseling Strategy. “Data from the latest research conducted by the Ministry show that 24.5 percent of young people have participated in career guidance and counseling, which is significantly higher than in previous years,” Labudović stated. Slavica Rakić highlighted the Ministry of Education’s support for the development of career guidance in schools and praised the exhibiting teams for their enthusiasm in supporting students and parents.

After introducing the Fair participants to the work of the exhibitors, a five-member commission consisting of Tatjana Glišić Milutinović (Institute for the Improvement of Education), Ana Stojanović (Serbian Chamber of Commerce), Slavica Rakić (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development), Ivana Vulić (Euroguidance Centre), and Jelena Manić Radoičić (BOS), visited all stands and became acquainted with the work of the school teams. The commission was tasked with selecting the most active school team for the 2016/2017 school year based on submitted plans and programs for career guidance and counseling, reports on implemented activities during the current school year and presentations of schools during the Fair.

By decision of the Commission, the first prize was awarded to the team from the Polytechnic School in Kragujevac, which stood out for its proactive approach and involvement of the private sector, as well as diverse activities for students from vulnerable groups, foreseen in its plan and successfully implemented in cooperation with a large number of partners from the private, public, and civil sectors. The prize of 30,000 dinars and a study trip to Austria were presented by Olivera Stepanović and Jelena Manić Radoičić. Second place was awarded to the Grammar School “Branko Radičević” from Stara Pazova, and the prize of 10,000 dinars and a study trip to Slovenia was presented by Slavica Rakić. Due to the large number of high-quality exhibitors, the Hemijsko-tehnološka School from Subotica also received a study trip to Slovenia for third place, while the Dragačevo Secondary School, for fourth place, received participation in an international seminar on innovations in CGC organized by the Euroguidance network.

The Fair was implemented within the project “Quality Services for Better Youth Employability – KVIS na BIS,” with financial support from Solidar Suisse/Swiss Labour Assistance (SLA) – Office in Serbia.