
BUILDING YOUTH SKILLS AND KNOW-HOW FOR A BIO-BASED REGIONAL ECONOMY ACROSS THE DANUBE WATERSHED
Virtual Training Oct 1-3 2021
Water for the Environment, Agriculture & ICT
Virtual Learning
Waterlution is pleased to offer this first Water Innovation Lab (WIL Danube+ 2021) to young leaders from Danube countries keen to deepen their knowledge across water, environmental, agricultural themes, while simultaneously expanding their network, and gaining valuable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. WIL Danube+ 2021 will blend applied leadership skills training with opportunities for regional and national collaborations around water contributing to the implementation of the SDGs.
WIL Danube + 2021
WIL Danube+ 2021 welcomes youth, ages 18-35 from the following countries, and diaspora, to apply to join the program:
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Hungary
- Montenegro
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Romania
STAY CONNECTED
An Inter-Cultural Water Learning Experience Exploring Culture, Storytelling and Pathways to Resilient Water Futures
OUR Water in the DANUBE needs
INNOVATION
Waterlution’s Water Innovation Labs (WILs) are front-running, immersive leadership development experiences designed to accelerate collaborative innovation, fast-track global knowledge-sharing and devise new innovations that improve water security for the planet. To date, 16 WIL programs, across 5 continents, 9 countries, trained 1500+ young water leaders, engaged 350+ mentors, and initiated 125+ water innovation projects.
With leadership training at its core, WILs equip the next generation of young water researchers, policy-makers, and waterpreneurs with mindsets and skill-sets for beyond 2021: collaboration, creativity, global-engagement, complex problem solving, and impact-oriented thinking.
Participants who successfully complete Phase I will have the opportunity to apply for advanced in-person training in Phase II








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PROGRAM DETAILS
Important Dates
June 2, 2021
Applications open
September 13, 2021
Applications deadline
September 15, 2021
Accepted applicants notified
Program delivered
Oct 1-3, 2021
See Schedule for details
PLEASE NOTE:
WIL Danube+ will be delivered in English
Throughout the WIL Danube+ 2021 journey, youth (18-35 yrs) will have the opportunity to deepen their water and environmental knowledge, develop a regional collaborative network and start co-developing ideas to solve local and regional challenges.
The program will include:
- community building and cross-cultural communication exercises
- online sessions focused on water management with presentations from expert resource guests, and community dialogue
- 21st century entrepreneurship skills training for a bio-based economy
Program Fees
$50 USD
For those employed, able to receive support from their academic institution or employer
Pay What You Can
For those who don’t have the financial means to cover the full program fee. You can indicate the amount in the application form.
Scholarships
For those that cannot offer a financial payment. You can indicate your request for a scholarship in the application form.
Phases
Phase I – October 1-3, 2021
Invites youth and young leaders to apply for a weekend long online immersion with expert presentations and concludes with co-innovative solutions designed at a conceptual level within multidisciplinary teams. Participants who meet all requirements and present their projects are selected to participate in Phase II.
Phase II – 2022
For extensive capacity building and skills training to advance, pilot, prototype new water innovations as well as deepen media and story-telling skills.
The goal is to deliver Phase II in 2022 hopefully in-person => please stay tuned for more details, they will be shared as available (October-November 2021).
Announcing a Hybrid Phase I
We are opening up an in person opportunity for place-based learning and connection with one another. A limited number of spaces will be opened up in Phase I, as we gear up to offer a tour of cities along the Danube for Phase II. Details will be provided for accepted participants on September 15th.
Because of the current times, if a threat to public health would be posed, we reserve the ability to cancel the in-person component one week prior to the delivery of the program.
In order to attend WIL Danube+ in-person, you must be fully vaccinated
Schedule
DAY 1
Cultural Connections to Water and Communities
3-6pm CET / 9am-12pm EST
To open up WIL Danube+ 2021, guests will share a holistic and cultural understanding of water. We will learn from artists, visionaries and water policy makers from the Danube while also building community between participants.
DAY 2
Watershed Management, Agriculture & ICT
4-6pm CET / 10am-12pm EST
Building from Day 1, interactive training will focus on the current water situation. Together we will explore water management, agriculture, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Resource experts and leaders from their field will share approaches, highlighting challenges and successful models that encourage participants to think of their own creative and innovative solutions.
DAY 3
Collaborating on Water Innovations in local communities
3-6pm CET / 9am-12pm EST
This final session is all about collaborating together. We will facilitate an open space, during which participants will share new ideas for solving local water challenges. Within group discussions participants will deepen these ideas and consider ways to collaborate on innovative water solutions going forward.
Who will participate in WIL Danube+?
0 +
Young Water Leaders from Danube + Diaspora
0 +
Resource Guests
0
Facilitators from the Balkans and Canada
Who is Eligible to Apply?
- Young people between the ages of 18-35 with linkages to the following countries: Balkan and Danube countries sharing the Danube waters
- Able to make a meaningful contribution around cross-cutting water themes of environment, agriculture, or ICT in the Danube
- Available between Oct 1-3rd, 2021 (8 hours total over 3 days)
- Motivated to develop an intercultural network of water innovators, engineers, artists, and community leaders with whom to solve water challenges
- An intermediate level of English. (The program will be delivered in English with limited Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian translation provided when necessary.)
If this sounds like you, then WIL Danube+ is for you!
WIL Danube +
Organizational TEAM

Karen Kun
President & Founder, Waterlution
Karen Kun is the Founder and President of Waterlution, and co-founder of Greatness – The Great Lakes Project. She credits her time two decades ago living among Indigenous communities in Latin America as the inspiration behind applying water as a metaphor for everything essential in caring for and preserving ourselves and our planet. Seventeen years later, Karen continues to incorporate the practice of storytelling, building personal connections, peer-to-peer social engagement, and empathy as the fundamental tools in creating meaningful water dialogue. She is well known for her motto, which is to simply show up. Showing up has given Karen the opportunity to develop unexpected partnerships and to experiment with a variety of viewpoints and approaches. As a woman, mother, entrepreneur, risk-taker, mentor and Waterlution’s leader, Karen proudly supports all aspects of youth development. Growing the development of future global water leaders with the necessary tools to approach complex water issues has become a monumental aspect of Waterlution’s ongoing work and driver for change. Along with her water background, she is a skilled business leader who from 2005-2012 was publisher of Corporate Knights magazine.
- Email:karen@waterlution.org

Miomir Rajcevic
President, Media Education Center
Miomir Rajcevic has, like director, scriptwriter and cinematographer, more than 35 years’ experience in filming and producing 16mm and 35mm films for TV in several hundred projects covering documentaries, educational, theatrical, art and news reports, short and animated films, digital and multimedia professional and educational productions. Author of TV serial about young people, PORTRAITS and TV serial TRIPTYCH about young people with special needs.
Organized-participated in many media and information literacy workshops in Serbia, South Korea, Iran, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia and USA with focus on media, film, animation and multimedia like strong artistic tool for social changing, promoting diversity and interculturality… Always very much involved in work with children and young people (Young directors, presenters and actors) specially producing for young people in many serials, Miomir Rajcevic starts to developing animation like great tool for media literacy and media education during the AGORA Audio Video Forum for Youth in Thessaloniki, Greece from 1997. With experience he has from different International Media Workshops, in collaboration with many School of Animation, he implemented numbers of animation workshops in Serbia and around the Globe: from the World Summit on Media for Children in Thessaloniki, Greece via many World Summit’s on Media for Youth 2006-2015 and different International, Balkan’s and National Media Workshops in Serbia. New Sailing Animation Classroom is Danube Peace Boat E.U.R.O.P.E. with Danube Waves Art Academy where Animation is Alphabet of the Media Literacy, main tool for understanding Media Language and create Messages understandable for everybody.
Miomir Rajcevic is at the moment President of the Media Education Centre, World Summit on Media for Youth Executive Director, Head of Media Laboratory of the Media Education centre; General Manager of the Balkan PLUS International Festival; Chairman of the Serbian “Unity in Diversity CSCCP”, Coordinator of the Danube Peace Boat / Danube for Peace 2015-2022 Project, Member of the UNESCO-GAPMIL Steering Committee and Head of the Media Education Centre Delegation to the UN Economy and Social Council.
- Email:karen@waterlution.org

Natalija Vojno
Founder, Our Future First, Nasa Gora Initiative
Natalija Vojno is a peace innovator with a decade of experience helping diverse groups align on environmental priorities and actions. As a watershed campaigner, speechwriter for Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, and global youth network leader she would align hearts and minds to advance water policies.
As the Founder of Our Future First, she mediates, designs, and facilitates processes that help people identify their common values and actions to achieve more liveable futures. Natalija was trained in community mediation by St. Stephen’s House, cross-cultural dialogue by Soliya. And interest based negotiation training from the Clingendael Institute in the Hague and MIT’s Lawrence Susskind. Natalija holds a BA from the University of Toronto, and an MSc in Water Resources Management from UNESCO-IHE, in the Netherlands. She is an UNLEASH Innovation Lab alumna and a Rotary Peace Fellow at ICU in Tokyo.
GUEST Speakers
More guest speakers will be added.

Prof. Marija Jevtic
Full professor at University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine; EU Climate Pact Ambassador
Expert Resource Guest

Prof. Marija Jevtic
Full professor at University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine; EU Climate Pact Ambassador
Full Professor at University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, specialist in Hygiene (Public Health) at the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina with sub specialisation in medical ecology. Current and past affiliations include research collaborator at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Research Centre on
Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health; associate member of the Academy of Medical Sciences Serbian Medical Society; a group analytic therapist and System Psychodynamic Organizational Consultant; President of the Environment and Health Section European Public Health Association
(EUPHA); member of the Science Advisory Committee European Health Management Organization (EHMA); and the EU Climate Pact Ambassador for Serbia.
Theme: Water as resource for health and wellbeing in the SDGs context

Jürgen Schick
Deputy Head of the Department for EU Cooperation in Education Training and Multilateral Affairs in the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of Austria
Expert Resource Guest

Jürgen Schick
Deputy Head of the Department for EU Cooperation in Education Training and Multilateral Affairs in the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of Austria
Jürgen Schick is the Deputy Head of the Department for EU Cooperation in Education Training and Multilateral Affairs in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and
Research. His main responsibilities include education policy within the European Semester, the EU Framework for Roma Inclusion and regional educational cooperation with countries in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. In 2011 he was appointed by the European
Commission as Coordinator of the Priority Area 9 “People and Skills” of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.
Since 2014, he is a Member of the Consultative Body of the Education Reform Initiative of South-Eastern Europe (ERI SEE). Previous functions include Head of the Secretariat of the
RCC Task Force on Fostering and Building Human Capital and Austrian Educational
Coordinator to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Branko Vučijak
UNPD MEG project, Water Management Specialist
More than thirty-six years of experience, most in the management in water and environment sector, in parallel to teaching in higher education at the University of Sarajevo. During last 25 years numerous engagements as project director, project manager or key expert in different capacity building, technical assistance and supervision-oriented projects, with extensive experience in technical issues, accounting, financial management and project monitoring in the projects funded by international financial institutions. Having the both engineering and applied mathematics higher educations he has excellent understanding for both technical and economic issues in the water and environment sector, underlining water utility operations.

Damir Muslić
UNDP MEG Project, Environmental and Water Management Field Officer
Expert Resource Guest

Damir Muslić
UNDP MEG Project, Environmental and Water Management Field Officer
A mechanical engineer with more than 18 years of experience in the professional field as a manager, project manager and consultant. During the last 18 years of his professional career, he has implemented several significant industrial projects related to the environmental protection and energy efficiency improvement, as well as projects in the field of improvement of machine maintenance, designing HVAC plants, and plant automation, focusing on process optimization and reduction of energy consumption.
He has broad technical knowledge in the field of mechanical engineering, energy efficiency, water management and environmental protection.

Alen Robović
UNDP MEG project, Environmental Water Management Officer
Water engineer with more than twenty years of experience in the water and environment sector. During last 15 years engaged as technical expert in numerous projects related to the communal infrastructure, water protection, feasibility assessments and preparation of the cos benefit analysis for the water and environment related projects, development of the bankable projects for the IFI financing, water utility improvement projects. Having the broad experience in the sector, has excellent understanding for technical, management and economic issues in the water sector.

Prof. Ivan Miskulin
Health and Quality of the Water in Pannonian basin
Head of the Department of Public Health at Faculty of Medicine Osijek.
Research in public health and health management.
Experienced in medical informatics.
Specialist in health promotion, NCDs, biostatistics and data analysis.
Skilled in change management and university management.

Dr Zorica Jestrovic
Water for responsible and sustainable development of Agriculture
Expert Resource Guest

Dr Zorica Jestrovic
Water for responsible and sustainable development of Agriculture
Doctor of Biotechnical Sciences, Advisor at the Biogranum Research and Development Center, Novi Sad
Head of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development
Governor of the Rotary District 2483

Ms Veselina Radanov Pelagić
Expert of the Working Group 7 of the National Convention on the European Union progress
Expert Resource Guest

Ms Veselina Radanov Pelagić
Expert of the Working Group 7 of the National Convention on the European Union progress
President Committee of Foundation for research, development, food safety and eco health, Expert of the Working Group 7 of the National Convention on the European Union progress, Member of the Danube Civil Society Forum and Safe communities, Serbia
Topic: Water in Agriculture for Food Safety

Prof. Jovan Popesku
Professor at Singidunum University
President of Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT, Serbian Chapter) and of Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Development, Belgrade. Professor at Singidunum University, Department for Tourism and Hospitality Management, Belgrade, Serbia
Topic: Challenges of the sustainable tourism development in the Danube region
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Media Education Centre (MEC), Our Future First’s Nasa Gora Initiative, and Waterlution have come together to collaborate on a new water youth entrepreneurship project that blends each organisation’s strengths and creates new opportunities across the greater Danube watershed.
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 Danube+?
Natalija Vojno,
Nasa Gora Initiative Founder
Email: natalija@ourfuturefirst.co