
20 May Project WIN – the third partners meeting was held in Banja Koviljača
Photo: Aleksandar Stojanović
20.05.2025
The third in-person partners meeting was held in Loznica / Banja Koviljača on May 14 and 15, 2025, as part of the project Impoving the position of Women in the labour markets of peripheral INdustrial regions – WIN, which was approved under the European mechanism Interreg – Danube Transitional Program.
The goal of the project is to improve the position of women on the labor market in peripheral industrial regions and contribute to a more accessible, inclusive and efficient labor market, in order to encourage new opportunities for their employment and remove cultural and institutional obstacles that prevent them from using their professional potential.
The Association of Business Women in Serbia, a partner in the WIN project, was the organizer of this meeting, and support in the organization was provided by the strategic partner in the project, the City of Loznica / Tourism Organization of the City of Loznica, with the participation of the Association of Business Women in Loznica Kreativna vizija.
The WIN project is implemented by a consortium of 10 partners from 7 countries. In addition to ABW Serbia, partners from Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria and the Czech Republic also participate.
As part of the meeting in Serbia, on the first day a study visit was organized to Tršić and the ethno village of Azbuka, as an example of good practice in the development of ethno-tourism in the Loznica region, where the partners were welcomed by Dragana Panajotović, executive director of the Association of Business Women in Serbia and Snežana Perić, director of TOGL, after which Kristina Nikolić from TOGL spoke about tourism and the potential of its development in the Loznica region, with reference to the position of women in this region. The concept, goals and results of the Azbuka ethno village were presented to the consortium by Kristina Rovčanin, the owner of this exceptional complex. In order to complete the picture of Loznica’s ethno-tourism potential, the partners visited Vuk Karadžić’s birthplace. Geographical location, as well as institutions like TOGL, but also successful farms and small businesses represent key resources and inspiration for potential employment and empowerment of women from the region. In the continuation of the study visit, the partners could see the abandoned complex of the former industrial giant, the Viscose factory, and hear from Kristina Nikolić the story of its development and rise, as well as its closure during the transition, and its current status.
The continuation of the two-day meeting followed in the Kur-salon within the Special Rehabilitation Hospital of Banja Koviljača, in the famous hall of King Aleksandar I. At the very beginning of the working part of the meeting, the partners were greeted by Dejan Stalović, assistant mayor and city manager, and then Danijela Stanojević, deputy director of the Special Rehabilitation Hospital of Banja Koviljača, presented health and SPA tourism in the Loznica region. During the working part of the meeting, the partners presented the previous results, activities and further plans in the implementation of the project.
The second day of the project was dedicated to workshops. Two transnational workshops, a round table and a world cafe were held, activities for which, in addition to study visits, the ABW Serbia was responsible for the entire duration of the project. At the round table, with the theme Empowering women in the Loznica region, about the successes, but also the difficulties they encountered in the development of their businesses, with the aim of presenting examples of good practice in peripheral industrial zones, three successful entrepreneurs from the Mačvan district spoke: Ljiljana Matković (Eko tim Loznica), Slobodanka Stević (Kondor-tis Loznica/hotel Heba Divčibare) and Marija Ignjatović (Novitas Consult Šabac), and then the participants of the world cafe – partners, strategic partners and representatives of the national group for social innovations, discussed the empowerment of women in practice, the fight against stereotypes, a new perception of tradition and intergenerational connection.