May 11, 2016

Back in Ohrid

After over a year of preparations, I am extremely excited to come to Ohrid and meet the team and the partners. Some are flying in from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and the Netherlands. Others come by car from Skopje, Tetovo, Zagreb and Tirana. Most of the team only know other from the many web conference calls. We truly gathered an amazing team.

We immediately dive into full preparation mode, with so many things to fork out. Elena Stavrevksa, our local team lead, has taken excellent care of the complex logistics, with a program spread out over different locations. Damir Neziri, Vizar Ademi and the other facilitators work out the program scripts with Pepijn van Dijk and Sabine den Hartog.

Meanwhile we do a site inspection in Velestovo together with Jana Plavez, our photographer, and Pamela Sturhoofd and Freek Zonderland, our film crew. The venue overlooking Lake Ohrid is breathtaking.

I also see my old friend Vlatko Ognenovski, who immediately volunteered to prepare the communal dinner when we met a year ago in Skopje. I had him hook up with Bledar Kola, the Tirana chef I have been working with to set up an event in Albania. In an incomprehensible flurry of messages on Facebook, they jointly designed a menu blending the different ethnic cuisines. They were joined by a stellar team consisting of Oltion Veshi, Sokol Prenga, Dimitar Arnaudoski and Dugagjin Gashi. Of course a reunion with friends in Macedonia is never complete without wine or raki (rakija; rakia)…

Other blogs

November 11, 2014

From Sarajevo to Zagreb

November 21, 2014

Revisiting Mostar

November 07, 2015

The need for a different approach

February 18, 2016

Stewardship as shared perspective

May 27, 2016

Bridging the divide – by Sabine den Hartog

September 15, 2016

JOURNEY TO THE TOP – BY JELENA ROZIC

This is Lukomir, a little village on Bjelašnica Mountain. I am here with the crew from Fronterra program, which is a social start-up program that brings together entrepreneurial talent based on agriculture, tourism and art. However, I am not an entrepreneur, I do not work in agriculture and I do not do arts and crafts. I am here to tell you something.

September 16, 2016

VIEW FROM THE TOP – BY JELENA ROZIC

Mountain air can clear your views, breaths and therefore your soul as well. Mountain air was the first thing that splashed my face when I opened my eyes yesterday morning at 7. It was the dawn in Lukomir that you would be able to see in your imagination if you tried to picture nothing less than fairy tales.

November 01, 2016

I WANT IT, THEREFORE I CAN DO IT – BY JELENA ROZIC

In the period from September the 15th and 18th a project called Fronterra was held in Mostar. You could read all about it in the media, but it’s no harm to repeat. Fronterra program is a social start-up program that brings together entrepreneurial talent from divided, disaffected communities. Participants rediscover common ground, develop shared perspectives and collaborate on social business ideas. In Mostar the focus was on agriculture and tourism so the applications gathered about fifteen ambitious people who showed that they have a lot to offer to their local community.

November 05, 2016

FRONTERRA: TRADINNOVATION – BY JELENA ROZIC

Fronterra program didn’t stop with explaining the notion of social entrepreneurship in theory. The organization team prepared a treat for the end. They ended the program with an idea that brought together two strong powers of contemporary society – the tradition and innovation.

February 22, 2018

Reflecting on Mostar: The Recipe for Success – by Inga Kotlo

It has been more than a year since Fronterra sparked off a “can-do and will-do” spirit in Mostar

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The essential challenge is to transform the isolation and self-interest within our communities into connectedness and caring for the whole

Peter Block, author

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“Food, at the moment, seems to be the only unifying force in this highly fractured place” Ottolenghi