Creative Ideas Fairs were held on September 27th in Gračac and on September 28th in Šibenik.
The fairs were very well attended and both events were preceded by forums attended by over 70 people in each city.
In Gračac, the event began at 11 am, where after welcoming speeches by Sanja Sarnavka, BaBe and Nataša Turbić, the mayors of the Municipality of Gračac, Ivana Tomić and Darija Marić presented the project, followed by presentations of examples of positive practice, i.e. innovative entrepreneurial ventures by creative citizens and associations, as well as alternative methods and concepts of financing and entrepreneurship. Participants in Gračac were motivated and inspired by Hela Liverić, Farma Drijade, Šumber, Nedeščina, Istra, Andrea Vuković, ACT Grupa, Čakovec – about social entrepreneurship and ACT Grupa, and Hrvoje Hafner, Doniralica, Zagreb – about crowdfunding, which also earned a big spontaneous applause.
Milan Tankosić, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Gračac, and Elena Jurić from the Croatian Employment Service spoke about the support of the state and local government, initiatives, programs and difficulties.
This was followed by the presentation of associations, producers, entrepreneurs, products and projects at stands at the Gračac market, where ACT Grupa, Čakovec, Kamenica Association, Obrovac, OPG Božo Rađenović, Srb, OPG Jovo Dubajić, Suvaja, OPG Petar Dubajić, Suvaja, OPG Dane Obradović, Bruvno, OPG Mira Ćopić, Suvaja, OPG Radojka Cvjetković, Gračac, Una Association, Srb, OPG Milena Pualić, Srb, Prospero Association, Gračac, OPG Đuro Vekić, Srb, Domaća radinost "Branka", Šibenik presented themselves.
The opening of the Šibenik Fair began with a lecture "Dare, start and employ yourself" in the City Library "Juraj Šižgorić" starting at 11:00 am. The opening remarks were given by representatives of the associations BaBe from Zagreb and "Youth in the EU" from Šibenik. The lecture presented three successful examples of entrepreneurship, namely: CEDAR Split, Autonomous center Čakovec and Donor from Zagreb.
The purpose of the lecture was to introduce citizens to entrepreneurship, show them examples of good practice both in the world and in Croatia, and encourage everyone who is thinking about entrepreneurship to take that step. In addition to motivation to start their own self-employment, the Fair offered advice from representatives of the state administration, the Croatian Employment Service, and HBOR.
The lecture highlighted social entrepreneurship as ideal for young entrepreneurs and society as a whole. Social entrepreneurship is a business with primarily social goals, which in principle reinvests the surpluses in the business itself or in the community, instead of increasing the profits of shareholders and owners. It also highlighted the establishment of the first Ethical Bank in Croatia in the first half of next year, which will offer favorable loans to entrepreneurs and will be oriented towards the benefit of the community and not profit.
The aforementioned lecture gave citizens an insight into the basics of entrepreneurship, how to start their own business and who to turn to for help, and it showed local authorities examples of how to enable the development and success of similar projects in their communities.
After the lecture, the participants headed to the Azimut club, in front of which associations, entrepreneurs and individuals presented their local products, handicrafts and products from eco-farming of family farms from local regions and other counties at their stands. In addition to local products, citizens could get information at the stands about the measures of the Croatian Employment Service for the unemployed and what loans HBOR offers for beginner entrepreneurs. The city of Šibenik stood out by presenting the first 3D printer in Croatia.
The following organizations exhibited their products and materials at the stands: Our Hearth Association Knin, Association for Single Mothers Zagreb, Association Women of the Kosovo Valley Municipality Biskupija, Association Kamenčići Šibenik, Ecological Association Krka Knin, Home Crafts "Branka" Šibenik, "Šibenska belezza" Šibenik, "Kućna radinost" Drniš, Med Antičević Knin, MADIT- Rakije with a Story Šibenik, Home Crafts "Dragović-Matić" Šibenik, OPG Antolić Šibenik, OPG Petar Dubajić Suvaja, OPG Mira Ćopić Suvaja, OPG Đuro Vekić Srb, OPG Radojka Cvjetković Gračac, CEDRA Split, City of Šibenik, Croatian Chamber of Commerce Šibenik, Croatian Employment Service Šibenik. The fair brought together associations and citizens from all over Croatia who provided examples of good practice to the local population. The focus of the fair was to encourage citizens to engage in self-employment and social inclusion.
The fairs were organized by the BaBe Association from Zagreb in cooperation with partner associations "Mladi u EU" from Šibenik and Legalina from Gračac. The fair was held as part of the project "We act locally, but clearly, competently and loudly" which the associations are implementing in the Šibenik-Knin and Zadar counties and which is co-financed by the European Social Fund of the European Union.
These Fairs are unique for Gračac and Šibenik, bringing together associations, entrepreneurs and government in one place. In addition to gaining insight into examples of good practice, citizens were given the opportunity to talk and present their ideas to the leaders of the Croatian Employment Service, HBOR, the City of Šibenik, and the Municipality of Gračac. The Fair was well attended, as were many creative ideas that we hope will become future successful examples of good practice for the Municipality of Gračac, the City of Šibenik, and the whole of Croatia.
