As part of the seventh module of the AmChamps 2.2 program, this year dedicated to creative thinking, Returning Point participated in a panel on innovation held on May 12 at the premises of NCR Voyix in Belgrade.
AmChamps is a unique mentorship program of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia (AmCham), which has been connecting young leaders from the business community with final-year university students through knowledge exchange, mentorship, and hands-on experience for more than a decade. Returning Point has been part of the program since last year, within an internal innovation component through which each module includes a guest speaker who is a returnee, contributing to the topic of the module from their own perspective. After only the first year of collaboration, the tangible impact of this approach is already visible: one of the returnee speakers involved last year, Bojan Martinović, has become a full program lecturer this year, focusing on business development and entrepreneurship.
This year, the collaboration was further expanded through a special panel initiated by Tačka povratka, with the aim of exploring innovation also through the lens of social processes and return migration to Serbia.
This year’s module was dedicated to various forms of innovation, ranging from business and technology to creative industries and artificial intelligence. The panel was designed as a conversation on innovation within the “social algorithm” – return, connection, and contribution – with a focus on how changes in narrative, relationships, and community can lead to new models of social impact.
In this context, Returning Point opened a discussion on a different type of innovation: social innovation, and the ways in which empathy, community, and human connection can become tools for creating long-term change.
In his address, the Director of Returning Point, Uroš Živković, spoke about how the organization approaches social innovation and why innovation does not have to be technological in order to change society. He emphasized that change often emerges from the ways people connect and how individual experiences are translated into solutions that can benefit a wider community.
Through examples, he presented how our organization engages with returnees, maps the challenges they face, and develops concrete solutions – from digitally accessible resources to initiatives and public policies that can sustainably improve the experience of returning to Serbia. A particular emphasis was placed on the idea that solutions emerging from a single case, through community work and iteration, can evolve into tools with broader applicability.
Following the presentation, a panel discussion was held with Dr. Irena Bošković and Valentina Sofijanić, members of the Returning Point community, who shared their experiences of returning and collaborating with the organization.
During the discussion, they spoke about the importance of community, support, and connection with people going through similar experiences. They particularly reflected on the different narrative Returning Point is building around return – one that does not begin with questions such as “Why did you return?”, but rather focuses on how people can contribute to the local community and find their place after returning to Serbia. They also highlighted how meaningful the contacts, events, and sense of understanding within the Returning Point community have been for them.
Such conversations further highlight that innovation does not have to be exclusively technological, but can also emerge through social processes, lived experiences, and communities that reshape the way we think about return and integration.
We would like to thank AmCham for the invitation and the opportunity to participate in a program that has been connecting young people from the academic and business communities for years, creating space for different perspectives to meet. We believe that conversations like these contribute to a better understanding of the role of community in driving change and open space for social innovation that emerges from real-life experiences and collective action.
