The Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development
Sixth Active in the Community academy held in Slunj
Foundation Istria successfully conducted the sixth Academy of Community Activism this weekend in Slunj, bringing together 10 individuals – active citizens who wish to create positive changes in their communities. Initiating community activities involves launching initiatives aimed at revitalizing and developing the local community. This year’s Academy participants come from various regions of the Republic of Croatia: Cerovlje, Umag, Kaštelir, Rijeka, Mrkopalj, Slunj, Sisak, Klanjec, Krapina, and Zabok.
During the three-day training, the first step was to introduce the communities from which the participants come, the problems they identified, and the ideas they have to address these issues in their communities. The Academy began with mapping the community's potential – infrastructural, human, and social resources that can be leveraged to increase social capital by solving identified problems. We continued with mapping personal capital since individual skills and personalities are crucial for initiating social programs. After mapping the potential for increasing social capital within the community, we moved on to creating solutions for the identified problem. Muamer Mujević, owner and director of the digital marketing company Iconis d.o.o., positively conveyed the importance of recognizing what we do in the community through branding, social media, and digital marketing. Translating business principles of operation and management into the social sector, particularly in civil society – presenting, advocating, and implementing social ideas in a way that creates partnerships with various sectors – is essential if we want to position our idea well and engage the wider public, various stakeholders, and decision-makers. After creating solutions, we concluded with the development of social programs that participants will implement in their local communities, guided throughout the process by the Foundation’s Director, Helga Možé.
A specific feature of this training is the continuation of individual mentorship tailored to the implementation of specific social programs, which are indeed very diverse – from organizing a charity evening, social media workshops, community pathway development, felting workshops, starting a club and association, organizing panels and creating networks aimed at connecting organizations, to establishing communication with key individuals related to the possibilities of equipping spaces for activities and creating joint activities for the benefit of the entire community.
The Foundation is delighted to confirm once again that it has truly found individuals who are socially active and can turn their communities upside down by initiating various actions aimed at revitalizing and developing the local community.
We eagerly anticipate the start of the realization of their social programs!
The Academy of Community Activism is conducted as part of the "Active in the Community" program, within the framework of program cooperation and with the financial support of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, covering five counties: Istria, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Karlovac, Sisak-Moslavina, and Krapina-Zagorje.