Hajdana Tadic as a representative of the NGO Mladiinfo Montenegro participated in the Erasmus +: Social entrepreneurship – “Take a step forward”, held in Durres, Albania from 10 to 18 February 2018.
It was February 10th, the day of the departure of our delegation to the city of Durres, which is located on the Adriatic coast. We do not have high expectations, it is Albania, a country with a turbulent past and dismantled people. We travel through Skadar, flea markets on every corner, people cross the streets wherever they want, we groan together with the enraged driver. We travel further through peripheral parts of Tirana, in every corner, there are nationalist elements, black double-headed eagle flying in the air, and we felt we were unwanted. We entered Durres and finally arrived at the hotel Akropolis. We’re skeptical, but we could not go back. In the spacious hall, we find people of different cultures, religions, ages. We all look at each other and the game Getting to know each other starts. Some of them are a little suspicious, but this is their first project, while for one Macedonian this project is the eighteenth in a row. On one corner, there are Romanians with dominant black styling and Hotel Transylvania hairstyle, the Serbs who are typical bookworms, talkative Spaniards cheerful Italians, Macedonians with the attitude: “We came here to have fun,” coneited Bosnians. The Bulgarians arrived, exhausted due to complications on the way, and among them, there is one anima maker, developer, and a skier. We exchanged experiences, shared opinions, learned from each other. I already understand what social entrepreneurship is, and I can see the difference between NGOs, businesses and social entrepreneurship. Remember, the big idea is good only on paper! The idea is not functional without a persistent team, timing, resources, and successful business models.
We supplement our knowledge with practical experience of real businessmen who are willing to share it with us via Skype meeting.
I owe the gratitude to the NGO Mladiinfo and its president Milica Zugic, who contributes to such projects.