Developing Water Solutions ACROSS THE BALKAN WATERSHEDS
PHASE 1
AUG 7 – AUG 12
IN PERSON
TUZLA, NOVI-SAD, BELGRADE
PHASE 2
DATE: TBD
VIRTUAL
PHASE 3
OCT 21-23 2022
IN PERSON
ZAGREB CROATIA
AND
FEB 3-5 2023
IN PERSON
BELGRADE
Applications close July 29, 2022
About WIL BALKANS
Waterlution, the Media Education Centre, and Our Future first are thrilled to announce WIL Balkans, a capacity building and innovation acceleration initiative involving young water leaders who work extensively in the Balkans. Together, these young people will increase the Balkan’s adaptability, resilience, and innovation leadership in the face of climate change.
During 3 in-person, multi-day learning sessions, and 2 virtual trainings, the program combines community building,
cross-disciplinary communication, and skills training (scenario planning, stakeholder facilitation, change management, storytelling, and complex problem-solving) with technical expertise from water-affiliated industries so as to stimulate and accelerate innovative climate change solution-making.
Core Themes
Innovation teams will create entrepreneurial projects that tackle one of four core themes:
- Nature-based Water Solutions
Water treatment, monitoring technologies, flood prevention, water quality, and climate resilience. - Environmental Governance
Mainstreaming environmental education at all levels with the support of community science. - Natural Heritage
Digitization that aligns with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) for smart agriculture and rural development. - Climate Change
Improve education, awareness-raising and capacity
STAY CONNECTED
OUR Water in the BALKANS needs
INNOVATION
The Water Innovation Lab, known as WIL, is a front-running, immersive leadership training designed to accelerate collaborative innovation, fast-track global knowledge-sharing and devise new innovations that improve water security. WIL supports emerging leaders and entrepreneurs (19-35 yrs) across water and climate change disciplines to learn and innovate together. WIL develops future water leaders to think holistically, design innovatively across diverse backgrounds.
Applications close July 29, 2022
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Virtual Learning and Innovation Gatherings
PROGRAM DETAILS
ABOUT WIL BALKANS
Field trips with presentations from expert resource guests and community dialogue will deepen the understanding of the challenges from a human-centered perspective.
As skills are developed, innovation teams will create projects that tackle one of four core themes based on the strategic priorities identified by the 2022 Balkan Youth Environmental
- Water: nature-based solutions, water treatment, and monitoring technologies, and integrated water resources management as solutions for flood prevention, water quality, and climate resilience.
- Natural Heritage: digitization that aligns with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) for smart agriculture and rural development.
- Environmental Governance: mainstreaming environmental education at all levels with the support of community science.
- Climate Change: Improve education, awareness-raising and capacity on climate change action; recommendations for regional climate and energy strategies.
WHO can apply?
Open to young professionals (ages 20-35) living in Serbia, Bosnia-Herezgovinia and Croatia.
Applications are now open
Applications close July 29, 2022
Fees
Thanks to support from our funders, this program is offered for free for participants who are accepted.
Schedule
In Person (& VIRTUAL) Collaboration
August 2022 – February 2023
Balkans youth who have successfully completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 will advance to Phase 3 where their innovation projects will receive additional incubation support.
WELCOME CALL
AUGUST 2ND, 2022
VIRTUAL
Participants will meet each other and begin expanding their network; we will share an introduction to the program and get prepared to gather in person.
PHASE 1
In Person Tours and Field Visits
AUGUST 7 – 12
TUZLA, NOVI-SAD, BELGRADE
Language: English (with Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian interpretation provided)
30 youth will participate in a weeklong interactive program providing leadership skill development, resource guest presentations, field visits, and learning about water and climate challenges. Participants will have an opportunity to visit river basin commissions, sites of ecological and cultural significance, and to engage with farmers and ecologists. In addition to knowledge-building, the early-stage formulation of team-based innovation projects will begin during phase 1.
Locations:
- Tuzla (2 days – August 7 – 8) → travel at night to Novi-Sad
- Novi-Sad (2 days – August 9 – 10) → travel following morning to Belgrade
- Belgrade (2 days – August 11-12)
PHASE 2
Community-based Integration & Application of Learnings
DATE TBD
VIRTUAL
Language: English
Resource Guests: Stay Tuned
Participants will have two month to return home and reflect on their learning, skills and experiences. During this time, along with their communities, they can consider how to apply new solutions within their local context. To mobilize their knowledge, virtual communications, coaching and digital media literacy trainings will be offered to engage participants in delivering their own local campaign. This phase includes office hours with organizing team members for innovation project coaching, mentorship for developing project pitches, and culminates in a virtual project pitch showcase. Selected teams will advance to Phase 3.
PHASE 3
Project Development & Pitches
OCTOBER 21-23, 2022
ZAGREB
& FEBRUARY 21-23, 2023
BELGRADE
Language: English (with Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian interpretation provided)
Balkans youth who have successfully completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 will advance to Phase 3 where their innovation projects will receive additional incubation support. Phase 3 invites youth back together in-person to receive additional training to advance their innovation projects to incubate and develop their ideas to be tested, piloted or prototyped. The in-person 3-day immersive will offer skill development (scenario planning, innovation training, storytelling, team building, communications and complex problem-solving). Additional local cultural activities will be organized amid the design training and team-work. These may include artistic interventions, river walks, etc.
Phase 3 provides extended mentorship for team members, incubation of project development, and initial steps for piloting or prototyping their innovation. Teams will participate in learning circles and skills workshops, anchored by experienced mentors and resource guests,
and dive deeper into the problems they are seeking to solve, culminating in a final pitch day.
*All in-person programs will only take place if safe to do so in the context of the global pandemic. Adaptations will be made as necessary to transfer to online if needed.
WHY JOIN?
Past WIL Participants
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WIL BALKANS 2022 Team
FAQs
We encourage you to apply! Tell us about how you’ve been engaged with this topic, and the reviewers will see if you have the right background to be included. This is a young professionals space, and if you really feel you want to be there, put your best effort in. Diversity of experiences adds richness to the WIL program and we encourage applicants that have unique backgrounds.
WIL Balkans is open to people working, living, and studying in Serbia, Bosnia-Herezgovinia and Croatia. Unfortunately, we cannot accept global applicants, but sign up for our newsletter and/or follow our social channels as we do host global WILs!
Yes, participants who complete the program will be eligible for a certificate.
Please set aside 1-3 hours throughout the summer for mentorship meetings.
The in-person gathering is an immersive 4 day program with evening activities which are part of the networking. There will be wifi to check email and stay in touch, but the less work you can do during that week the better. This is a professional experience and you will get the most by being as present as possible!
Beyond the WIL programming there will be opportunities to advance innovation projects, with work schedules created by each project group.
At Waterlution, speakers and experts are usually referred to as Resource Guests, where the role is to elevate the knowledge and skills of the young professionals participating. If you think you have a strong set of skills to contribute, please email megan.cornall@waterlution.org with your background and she will be in touch.
We do our best to accommodate vegetarian, vegan diets and allergies and would work with you on a case-by-case basis. Participants will be sent a form where those details will be included.
It is our sincere hope that the in-person portion will proceed as planned. The number of people attending has already been adapted to a lower number as a covid consideration. However if something happens beyond our control, we will revisit whether it will happen in person. (But our fingers and toes are crossed!)
Our strong preference is that people can stay the whole time; however, we understand that there can be exceptions and there is space for this included in your application form. It will be taken into consideration.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
MEC is cultivating a New Generation, ready to combine peace, tolerance, knowledge and skills about cultural, historical, traditional and environmental heritage to transform our world; to take action actively! The Danube for Peace project encourages and empowers participants with the required knowledge and skills to become sociopreneurs and is shaping a new generation of active and engaged global citizens.
Our Future First establishes spaces for transformative dialogue, where core values can be expressed, and alternative outcomes imagined. An enabling process for collaboration is created where you own the final outcome. The Nasa Gora initiative equips youth with cross-cultural communication and entrepreneurship tools they need to become community leaders.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WIL BALKANS?
Megan Cornall