Through the project “Together in Education: Support for Girls from Rural Areas”, three workshops were organized for students at risk of dropping out of school.

Our associates carried out a set of workshops in Velika Plana, Aleksinac, and Rekovac. The workshops were focused on developing critical and creative thinking, as well as breaking gender stereotypes and prejudices, with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of education for achieving both career and life goals. The workshops were conducted in schools with the support of representatives of the organizations Society for Creativity Development, Rural Women’s Association – RUŽ, and Praskozorje.

In the premises of the High School Club in Velika Plana, Olivera Stosić, representative of the organization Praskozorje, and Tanja Kočić, member of the school team for career guidance and counseling, held a workshop titled “Choose Your Career Wisely.” The workshop provided students with the opportunity to reflect on and further develop their capacities for using self-assessment techniques of strengths and weaknesses, resources, and opportunities in the context of career management. The focus was on helping students gain insight into career planning possibilities through the use of short-term and long-term planning techniques.

Representatives of the Society for Creativity Development, in cooperation with the staff of the Vožd Karađorđe Primary School in Aleksinac, organized a series of workshops titled “Blue Rabbit.” This three-part workshop included activities aimed at raising awareness of one’s own abilities and values through strengthening peer support and empowering students to become peer educators. The workshop series was concluded with a “Creative Skills Fair,” where students had the chance to present how they envision their career development and future professions.

At the Agricultural-Veterinary School in Rekovac, associates from the Rural Women’s Association – RUŽ conducted a workshop focused on empowering female students at risk of early school leaving. The workshop gave the students the chance to become better informed and develop their entrepreneurial capacities, enabling them to secure economic independence. Following the workshop, a “Women’s Entrepreneurship Fair” was held, where students presented their business ideas based on the preservation of traditional crafts and occupations.

The project “Together in Education: Support for Girls from Rural Areas” is implemented by the Belgrade Open School within the regional project SMART Balkans – Civil Society for a Connected Western Balkans, carried out by the Center for Civil Society Promotion (CPCD), Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), and financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway. The content of the project and this material is the sole responsibility of the Belgrade Open School and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Civil Society Promotion, Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), Institute for Democracy and Mediation, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.