Visiting expert Dejan Aleksić visited Institute Burja

At the end of April 2024, the Serbian writer and editor Dejan Aleksić visited the Burja Institute in Rimske Toplice. He was there to train the teaching staff of the Institute of Burja to implement appropriate knowledge and competencies as well as work methodology in adult education processes. The visit took place within the accredited Eramus+ program.

For some time now, Zavod Burja has been trying to acquire appropriate knowledge and skills for publishing, so through its strategic development plan, it invests a lot of its energy in developing these knowledge and skills. For this purpose, we have already carried out several staff mobilisations for suitable organisations, and now, for the first time, we have invited a visiting expert. As part of implementing its strategic development plan, the Burja Institute wants to improve the various competencies of its employees and professional associates to create new, more flexible and attractive tools and work methodologies for teaching its target groups and, consequently, their competencies. Also, we need examples of good organisational practices from abroad to improve our development strategy. For this purpose, we carry out various forms of mobility (staff, student participants and the invitation of visiting experts). On this occasion, due to the improvement of publishing activities and the building of better literary competencies for our primary target group, expert Dejan Aleksić was invited.

During the four days of the visit, Dejan held several working meetings and training sessions with the staff and management of the Institute of Burje. During the process of conducting activities with an invited expert, most of the time, we used the methods of active participation of all participants (equal round table methods, Europe cafe method) and a combination of classic lecture methods with Q&A. We did classic workshops, field workshops, and outdoor workshops. We did internal training for the management and employees of the Institute of Bruja, semi-internal training with representatives and employees of organisations whose work is coordinated by the Institute of Burja, as well as cross-sectoral networking and expansion of the network in the technical and content part.

Dejan, a seasoned professional, brings a wealth of experience to the table. As the director of the association I have ideas, the head of the publishing house Povelja, and a long-time editor, producer, writer, playwright and publicist, his expertise is unparalleled. His extensive network of contacts is a valuable resource that we can leverage in the future.

The working meetings with the management and employees of the Institute of Burja were not just about sharing information, but about fostering a sense of collaboration. We discussed our work activities, projects (completed, ongoing, planned), the scope of work, and the potential of the partner network for cooperation and promotion. We also explored the work to create potential for future activities. A meeting with representatives of Serbian associations working under the auspices of the Burja Institute (Desanka Maksimović Celje, KD Brdo Kranj and SPD Nikola Tesla Postojna) further strengthened our collaborative spirit.

With the representatives of the Institute of Burja, through training, we additionally worked on the methodology of working with the teaching staff and the implementation of literary workshop concepts with the teaching staff and participants. The training also included the introduction of various creative methodological solutions into the organisation’s work, specifically for encouraging the culture of reading, activating the participants, and compiling a curriculum for gathering literary competencies in informal adult education.

We also held a working meeting of the Burja Institute representatives with the Goga Novo Mesto publishing house, with the aim of expanding the network in terms of content and future intersectoral cooperation in publishing and education on the subject.
Dejan’s knowledge and commitment were once again evident during his visit. The Burja Institute is grateful for his effort and contribution, which have greatly enriched our work.