On International Volunteer Day, we took part in the roundtable “Development through Projects”, organized by the Center for Spirituality and Culture Ignatius as part of the ZAORi project (“Together for Sustainable Development”), implemented by the Ignatius Center with support from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia.

The discussion was moderated by Tvrtko Barun, Jesuit and director of the Center, focusing on practical experiences, challenges in project implementation, the importance of networking, international collaboration and long-term sustainability of initiatives.

The roundtable featured guests with rich experience in project preparation and management.

Mateja Majdenic, Head of the European Solidarity Corps Department (ESS), presented opportunities offered by the program for projects involving young people up to 30 years old, emphasizing the value of their active role in international initiatives.

Ivona Biscan, a consultant for grants and non-profit management, shared practical insights and offered useful tips on preparing applications and writing successful projects.

Paula Pocanic Vovk, expert associate at the Biom Association for collaboration with the business sector, talked about project implementation in nature conservation and shared experiences from projects aimed at protecting birds and biodiversity.

Our Ivana Marasovic, founder of Kolajna ljubavi, presented the rich project experience of our Association, including work in Africa, India and Croatia, highlighting the importance of strong partnerships as well as challenges and values of long-term humanitarian and international engagement.

Before the roundtable, participants engaged in informal networking, exchanging good practices in project preparation and implementation, sharing experiences from mission work in different cultural contexts, from daily organizational issues like food and transport to running events aimed at fundraising.

These gatherings are invaluable, as they strengthen collaboration between associations, promote knowledge and experience exchange and further empower joint efforts in solidarity, humanitarian work and development.