The Lighthouse of Knowledge is a traditional competition of 60 high school students from 15 cities in Serbia.
It is designed so that high school students, with the expert assistance of mentors, work in teams to design and prepare projects on five topics (ecology, sports, tourism, culture and social responsibility) in order to improve the communities in which they live, as well as personal professional development. All they need to do is notice some good change that they would like to make in their place, apply and get started.
The Lighthouse of Knowledge is being organized for the third year in a row as a socially responsible event, designed to educate, train and connect young people from all over Serbia. The project is being implemented by the Association for the Promotion of Culture (ASK), with financial support from the US Embassy in Serbia.
Raising awareness among young people about the importance and opportunities of active participation in society, both locally, regionally, nationally and globally. Developing the necessary skills in non-formal education, such as business communication, project management, organizing teamwork and writing projects. “Bearing in mind the lack of youth activism, especially in small or rural areas, as well as among vulnerable social groups, providing specific guidance, knowledge, skills, abilities, sharing experiences, as well as professional guidance and support to young people in designing and implementing concrete activities in their to the local community are of great importance for boosting self-confidence, motivation, taking responsibility, proposing solutions to problems, ”said Maja Rubin, project manager of the Association for the Affirmation of Culture.
What does participation in the Lighthouse of Knowledge look like? High school students from different cities of Serbia have the opportunity to learn and get to know each other at the opening ceremony, when they define teams by city, they meet with mentors and lecturers. In Vrsac, they attend a three-day seminar covering accommodation, lectures, workshops and a fun program. During the seminar, high school teams identify and define projects through the desire to improve their local communities and prepare for project development.
The seminar is followed by a three-month working period on their projects, consisting of weekly webinars that chronologically monitor the development of ideas of the teams. Progress checks are organized three times during the program and the teams themselves liaise through a special program of “partner teams” to foster a culture of community and support. Final projects are presented at the final Lighthouse of knowledge event, where the project proposals are evaluated by an expert jury, made up of representatives of successful companies operating socially responsible, humanitarian foundations, media and organizations that have developed programs of encouragement of youth activism and entrepreneurship.
The Lighthouse of knowledge brings together proactive young people from different parts of Serbia through learning and working to improve the places they live in. By participating in the Lighthouse of Knowledge, young people have the opportunity to learn from the eminent experts the basics of project management and gain insight into how to put the idea into action.
Participation in the Lighthouse of Knowledge is useful in many aspects, but also fun, and completely free! Interested high school students who live in the territory of Serbia only need to apply for participation online or through the official Lighthouse of knowledge accounts on social networks. The application for participants is open until November 1st.