The Executive Director of Genesis Project, Dijana Pejić, participated in the prestigious Connecting for Non-Formal Education 2024 conference held in Bucharest. This event aims to bring together organizations and individuals from Romania and abroad who are active or interested in the field of non-formal education. Through collaborative work, participants identified and addressed common challenges, exploring concrete solutions for the advancement and promotion of this important sector, creating cooperation opportunities that will amplify the positive impact of non-formal education.
We are highly pleased that the Executive Director of the NGO Genesis Project, Ms. Dijana Pejić, participated this year in this extremely important gathering, also serving as one of the panelists. Dijana generously shared her rich knowledge and vast experience in the non-profit sector, education, social development, and peacebuilding. She also presented the UPSHIFT methodology, a jewel from the UNICEF Innovation Lab in New York, which has been successfully implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past four years, in partnership with UNICEF BiH and Genesis Project. This innovative program nurtures active social innovators and entrepreneurs, refining their skills, including financial literacy.
The conference was based on four key themes:
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Identifying challenges and opportunities in non-formal education: individual challenges, organizational challenges, beneficiary challenges, systemic challenges;
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Exploring innovative solutions to increase the impact of non-formal education: new approaches in non-formal education, new tools and strategies adaptable to non-formal education, tools for measuring impact and their usefulness;
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Identifying business models to ensure the sustainability of non-formal education organizations: developing sustainable revenue streams, fundraising strategies, developing internal organizational systems, developing strategic partnerships;
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Developing strategies for intra- and inter-sectoral cooperation to improve the quality and efficiency of non-formal education: synergies within non-formal education, connecting formal and non-formal education, expanding non-formal education, the vision of an ideal educational ecosystem.
The first day of the conference was structured as a workshop, where 16 participants, specialists in formal and non-formal education, representatives of non-governmental organizations, academia, and entrepreneurship, discussed and identified answers to the proposed topics related to non-formal education and entrepreneurship. The second day of the event was dedicated to public presentations, where the results of the previous workshop and relevant entrepreneurial perspectives were presented.
Dijana Pejić’s participation in this conference represents a significant step towards the advancement of non-formal education, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also wider. Her presence and contribution to this event further confirm Genesis Project’s commitment to improving educational practices and creating sustainable models for the future.