As a flagship initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans, the beeEffect continues to build its profile as a vital platform for transformation, resilience, and leadership in the Western Balkans countries and EU. This year's initial gathering was organized as a four-day event in Tirana, Albania (18 to 21 of September, 2025), and it brought together young professionals, mentors, and regional experts to engage in a transformative experience blending networking, training, and cultural exchange.
The launching event of the 4th cohort of the beeEffect Programme 2025 was one step further in cultivating a strong, empowered, and interconnected generation of Balkan changemakers. Through a unique blend of formal training, mentorship, storytelling, and cultural exploration, the 12 new participants and their mentors created the much-needed group dynamic where the participants, mentors and alumni member were able to meet, introduce themselves, and establish rapport in a relaxed environment.
- 40+ participants from across the Balkans engaged in an intensive 4-day programme.
- 12 expert speakers and facilitators shared knowledge and facilitated key sessions.
- 6 mentorship triadas were established for ongoing collaboration.
- Two practical workshops equipped participants with skills in public speaking, project writing and personal branding.
This year’s programme was particularly focused on mentorship, leadership development, social impact, and peer-to-peer learning, with sessions tailored to address practical challenges, enhance participants’ personal and professional skills, and strengthen connections across the Balkans.
The official opening, set the positive tone for the event, with hosting the new EFB Executive Director Veton Zekolli as keynote speaker. He spoke on the importance of building resilient regional leadership and the role of youth in transforming democratic practices, emphasizing the programme's value for EFB itself and its valuable place in the long-term vision for the broader beeEFB Alumni Network.
The opening panel with Jovana Nešić Jovanović, Arabela Iljaz, Amalia Koleka, Miloš Popović contextualized the participants’ expectations and introduced the key themes of the network and the programme with focus on the alumni mentorship, the regional interconnectedness and the community building.
Facilitated by Aida Yzeiri, the ice-breaking interactive session used group games to explore participants’ goals, and promote openness and trust among attendees.
Drilon Shala moderated the session featured impactful stories and lessons shared by seasoned beeEFB guest mentors and mentees from previous generations - Donjet Gjoka Tijana Savić, Faris Godinjak, Georgina Horobeanu, highlighting key takeaways from their personal journeys. Bojana Marinković was leading the session which had Sabin-Emilian Prunau, Leons Hasani, Stefania Zourka, who inspiring examples of how small initiatives can lead to measurable regional impact.
Participants engaged in interpersonal speed-dating activities, designed to foster rapid connection and understanding. Facilitated by Chrysa Petala, Kostian Jano, and Eldin Buljubasić, this energetic session laid the groundwork for mentorship pairings. Using the insights from the speed dating, facilitators matched participants with mentors and teams to begin their mentorship journey.
Chrysa Petala led the key session outlined the goals, methodology, and expected outcomes of the mentorship component of the programme. Participants and mentors crafted the practical action plans for their mentorship journey, focusing on accountability, impact, and sustainability.
The beeEffect programme external guest was Kushtrim Shala, ALBICT whose inspirational talk on his beginnings and where he is at the moment as one of the most prominent tech names in Albania and region, steered the energy in the room. His insights and first-hand experience on leading different processes of digital transformation and innovation in civic engagement, also set the stage for future collaboration and exposing our network to the emerging trends of his
Our experienced alumni and communications professional Irena Myzeqari, shared a list of tips and tricks needed to improve the participants’ public speaking and storytelling skills. Through a candid and motivating discussion on overcoming setbacks, personal branding and body language techniques were some of the main points.
Hüseyin Silman offered a hands-on session focused on writing compelling project proposals and managing social impact initiatives efficiently. The wrap up session envisioned as a vision board on the give/get was done effectively by Konstantina Karydi. This interactive session mapped participants’ skills, needs, and offers, creating space for cross-collaboration and resource exchange beyond the programme and with support of the European Fund for the Balkans as an umbrella.
Besides the busy working agenda, the participants enjoyed a lively cultural performance “Albanian Night”, learning about Albanian music, dance, and traditions, as well as networking dinners which provided avenues for deeper interpersonal and cross-cultural exchange.
