Belgrade, December 23, 2024 – The annual Talent.Ecosystem conference was held in Belgrade, bringing together dozens of graduated scholarship recipients of the Fund for Young Talents, as well as numerous representatives from the private and public sectors, HR and talent managers, international organizations, returnees, and experts from various fields. This event provided an opportunity to summarize the results and successes of the initiative over the past year, as well as to present a new platform connecting young talents with employers in Serbia.
The conference was opened by Uroš Živković, program director of the Return Point, who presented the achievements and progress of Talent.Ecosystem over the past year. An-Charlotte Malm, head of the development cooperation group at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), delivered a welcoming speech, emphasizing the importance of the initiative to support young talents and circular migration. Jakup Berish, UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, also addressed the audience.
In the main part of the program, a panel discussion titled “The Future of Work: Learning and Acquiring Skills as the Key to Success” was held, moderated by Bojana Višekruna from the United Nations Development Programme in Serbia. The panelists included Dr. Jelena Begović, Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Milan Bosnić, Director of the National Employment Service of the Republic of Serbia, and Stefan Lazarević, General Director of NCR Voyix and Chairman of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia. The panelists discussed the challenges and needs of the labor market, emphasizing the importance of acquiring new skills, the impact of artificial intelligence on employment, and adapting the education system to the needs of the modern labor market.
The conference also featured the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia and the Return Point. This memorandum marks the continuation and expansion of cooperation to further strengthen the ecosystem that supports young talents and promotes circular migration. The signing of this document represents an important step toward improving the conditions for the return of young professionals to Serbia and their engagement in key sectors.
The conference served as a platform for exchanging experiences and ideas on how to improve the ecosystem that supports young talents. The Talent.Ecosystem app, which connects scholarship recipients of the Fund for Young Talents with employers, represents a key tool for their integration into the Serbian labor market and their professional development.
We thank all the participants, partners, and panelists who contributed to the success of the conference with their presence and engagement, and we look forward to the future steps in creating an efficient Talent.Ecosystem.
