Presentation of the Women’s Ethno Hub as part of the Women’s World event in Loznica

27 Mar Presentation of the Women’s Ethno Hub as part of the Women’s World event in Loznica

Today in Loznica, as part of the traditional March meetings called  WOMEN’S WORLD,  in the premises of the Cultural Center “Vuk Karadžić“ (gallery “Mina Karadžić”), a project was presented: WIN – Improving the position of Women in the labour markets of peripheral INdustrial regions, which, within the EU Interreg Danube Region Programme, is being implemented by the Association of Business Women in Serbia with the support of the City of Loznica/Tourism Organization of the City of Loznica, as an associated strategic partner. The event called the Women’s Ethno Hub was organized by the “Vuk Karadžić” Culture Center, the Association of Business Women Loznica Kreativna vizija and the Association of Business Women in Serbia, with the support of TOGL.

After the address by Dragana Lukić, Mayor of Loznica, Snežana Nešković Simić, Director of the Cultural Center, Slavica Tešić, President of ABW Kreativna vizija Loznica and Snežana Perić, Director of TOGL, Dragana Panajotović, Executive director of ABW Serbia, presented the WIN project about the planned pilot that will be implemented in Loznica from April. This was followed by a panel, moderated by Dragana Panajotović, in which the participants, Snežana Perić, Director of the Tourism Organization of the city of Loznica, Zoran Milovanović, Director of the Loznica branch of the National Employment Service, Ljiljana Matković, owner and Director of the company Eko Tim, Loznica, and Tijana Sekulić, owner of AT Consulting, Belgrade, spoke about their experiences, as well as the position of women on the labor market in Loznica, the need to include as many women as possible in the tourist offer of the city, planned educations and a pilot project. Numerous participants of the event, entrepreneurs, women from rural areas of the city of Loznica who participate or want to be involved in the tourist offer of the city, representatives of women’s associations from other parts of Serbia and from the region, primarily Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also representatives of large companies and the media, were able to hear the stories of successful entrepreneurs  and the path they have been through, which was not always easy. Women who make handicrafts and ethnic products, domestic craft or food products, organized a sales exhibition, with the idea of ​​additionally connecting with the representatives of three large companies in Loznica, so that these products could eventually be included in the offer of corporate gifts.

The goal of the event was to inform, encourage and motivate as many women as possible to strengthen themselves economically, actively participating in the economic life of the city. And while their mothers, potential participants of the training and pilot project, attended the event, the children had the opportunity to socialize and have fun at a workshop called Creative kindergarten organized for them in the hall of the Cultural Center. Considering that young women often have no one to look after their children while they are in training, one of the ideas during the planned pilot is to support them in this way and that workshops for children, a kind of ad hoc kindergarten, become a practice during the implementation of the project.

Today’s event, as well as all planned activities in Loznica, as part of the pilot that is part of the WIN project, are held under the common name WOMEN’S ETHNO HAB.

Until the end of this year, in the period from April to December, as long as the pilot project will last, women from Loznica and its surroundings, including suburban settlements and rural areas, will gather and network within the WOMEN’S ETHNO HUB. The pilot is organized within the WIN project in the territory of Loznica, with the aim of empowering women and their better position, through three key social innovations:

1. Education for digital marketing with the use of AI tools, through the intergenerational connection of women of the middle and older generation, who produce handicrafts and domestic (ethnic) products, and young women who will support them in the promotion and better offer of these products on social networks,
2. Trainings on circular economy and capacity building of women, owners or participants in family ethnic and tourist households and farms, for the development of rural and health tourism,
3. Support in establishing social enterprises.

Detailed information about the planned trainings in Loznica will be available on the website and social networks of ABW Serbia, TOGL and ABW Kreativna vizija from Loznica.