On this page

1. Developing entrepreneurial skills through cultural activities

2. Support young entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors

Developing entrepreneurial skills through cultural activities

In formal education, entrepreneurship is recognized as an important both cross-curricular and key competence. Thus, within the subjects presented in more detail in section 8.5. Acquiring cultural and creative competences through education and training entrepreneurship is recognized both as a key competence for lifelong learning - a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship and as general, cross-curricular competence - orientation towards entrepreneurship.

Besides formal education, entrepreneurial skills through cultural activities can be acquired through the participation in the world's largest entrepreneurial education programme - Junior Achievement . Implemented activities are related to entrepreneurship, experiential learning, the development of skills that contribute to employability, economic and financial literacy, innovation and creativity. Unique educational methods have been developed, based on the partnership of local and international companies and agencies, with the aim of helping students acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. 

Fund for Young Talents under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, among others, has a task is to provide awards to secondary school students for their achievements in recognized competitions in the country and abroad. The calendar of the competitions is published for each school year and cover competitions in school, municipal, regional and republic level related to school subjects. Some of them especially target creative skills, such are for example: 

• competitions of secondary vocational and art schools pupils in the categories of design and classical art media;
• Student short film review – FILMić;
• General upper secondary schools theatre encounters etc.

Serbia is also participating in Creative Europe programme. Creative Europe Desk is carried out by two offices: MEDIA desk Serbia established within the Film Centre of Serbia and the Culture desk Serbia established within the Ministry of Culture and Information. The programme supports:

• Cooperation between cultural and creative organizations from different countries;
• Initiatives to translate and promote literary works by European authors in the European Union and beyond;
• Establishment of networks that enable competitiveness and international activity of the cultural and creative sector;
• Establishment of platforms for the promotion of young talents and their works and projects.

Between 2014 and 2019, 84 cultural organisations from Serbia took part in cooperation projects.

Non-formal education is offered by many organisations in the fields of youth and or culture. One such example is Nova Iskra Design Incubator that offers educational programmes and projects in the field of creativity, innovation and socially responsible design, next to services and training programmes in the field of creative businesses. The incubator supports young designers from different areas and works and cooperates with many private and public institutions, as well as with network of over 250 creative individuals from Southeast Europe and all collaborators are part of one of three different membership networks.

Designers' Lab – a network of designers of different profiles is designed to support young creative people at the beginning of their careers and in need of professional workspace to exchange experiences and meet with potential clients and industry representatives. As an example Nova Iskra’s programme Excite 2.0 – Creative Exchange can be added. The focus of the programme was especially on the domain of cultural and creative industries, with the aim of exchanging knowledge and new entrepreneurial ideas and innovations. The project was supported by the European exchange programme  for Young Entrepreneurs and the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia. The exchanges provided a chance for young entrepreneurs from Serbia to realize study visits and exchange experiences with companies and entrepreneurs in the field of cultural and creative industries.

Creative Hub is the widest community of over 250 creative professionals from various disciplines - from web design or coding, through designing products and services, to interior design, architecture, visual communication, branding, packaging design and interactive content development.

Industry Hub gathers SMEs in the fields of business and manufacturing. In cooperation with the members, it organizes training programmes, study visits for designers, and professional exchange, and thus helps local companies pave their way to international markets.

Mikser House is a multidisciplinary platform that encourages the development of creative economy in Serbia. It connects cultural, educational, and commercial activities in a multifunctional space. It offers a wide range of cultural activities - exhibitions, lectures, promotions, concerts, panel discussions, workshops, festivals, theatre performances and educational programmes, in collaboration with various partners. Although this platform supports the development of entrepreneurship in the creative industries, it however does not include financial aid.

Additional forms of non-formal education are mentioned in the section 8.5 Developing cultural and creative competences.

Support young entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors

Decade of Entrepreneurship is a set of governmental measures not directly focused on youth, however it does bring together various initiatives, measures and projects aimed at developing the entrepreneurial spirit among young people: trainings, professional development, retraining and employment support, as well as professional and consulting assistance to improve business. Entrepreneurship Portal is developed within the Decade of Entrepreneurship. It is administered by the Ministry of Economy provides information on:  

• support programmes for SMEs and entrepreneurs, 
• support in the form of free advisory services, 
• other initiatives, measures and projects that the SME sector can find useful,  good practice examples.

The list of subprogrammes offered on the portal indicates that entrepreneurs in the cultural and creative sectors are supported through the incentive grants to film industry.

Creative Industries Cluster of Vojvodina was established in Novi Sad as a business association, with the aim of influencing the creation of conducive environment for the development of creative industries in Vojvodina and the region. The main activities include:

• Business development education;
• Connecting and business cooperation;
• New product development;
• Connecting with other industries and new markets;
• Information and assistance for applying for additional sources of financing (subsidies, loans, etc.).

The founders and members of the cluster are public and educational institutions, entrepreneurs, SMEs, companies and individuals, artists and creators from the creative industries. The Cluster organises a programme of competitions for the development of entrepreneurship and the participation of entrepreneurs from Serbia in international competitions - Serbia Start Up. Two sub-programmes refer to creative industries:

Creative Block - a series of meetups for the creative industries entrepreneurs. This activity gathers creators at thematic meetings to exchange experiences, identify problems they face in their work, and introduce them to the entrepreneurial way of thinking, acting and planning how to turn their creativity into a successful carrier.

Creative Business Cup – a national as well as an international competition of creative entrepreneurs from over 70 countries worldwide. The competition is an opportunity for creative entrepreneurs and teams to increase business knowledge, get promoted by this global platform and increase the chances to improve or start a business based on creative ideas. The national competition for Serbia includes the search for the best creative business concept that will represent Serbia at the international finals in Copenhagen, Denmark.