SR 
We are pleased to invite you to an online conference that we are organizing on Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, from 12:00 to 14:00, under the name "Green Spaces - Encouraging Learning and Play."Through planned lectures and presentations, conference participants will have the opportunity to learn about current domestic and European projects aimed at developing and supporting outdoor activities for children in a natural context, as an opportunity for children to play, learn, grow, and develop in touch with nature. This event also provides answers to climate challenges in urban environments by promoting sustainable planning concepts for open, green spaces tailored to the needs of children and youth, with their active involvement in making ecological solutions.
The conference is part of the initiative of an informal network of organizations and individuals led by the associations Ekonaut and KidHub with the aim of developing and transferring concepts of school and educational green spaces as an integral part of education in Serbia, with the goal of enhancing children's environmental rights and their social inclusion. The network, along with local and foreign collaborators and partners, plans to initiate and develop projects that contribute to the introduction of educational green spaces of various purposes in school and kindergarten yards, as well as other public spaces, to create authentic environments for play and learning that can provide children at their most vulnerable age with basic knowledge to understand environmental challenges and tools for addressing them.
Prijavljivanje traje do 14 maja u 11:00 časova i možete se prijaviti putem LINK
The conference is designed as a series of concrete examples through which we aim to educate and empower relevant stakeholders to participate in the design of spaces and programs for children's outdoor play (both current and future professionals in creating public spaces and playgrounds, educators, preschool teachers, teachers, parents, representatives of local authorities) and potential users in local communities.
Conference Agenda:
12:00 – 12:10 Sabina Kerić – Ekonaut Association – Opening Remarks
12:10 – 12:40 Dr. András Albert Halbritter – Iskolakertekért Foundation from Hungary – School Gardens Networking in Hungary and the EU - Presentation of the School Gardens Foundation of Hungary and the European Network for School Gardens
12:40 – 13:00 Vladimir Milutinović – Association for Landscape Horticulture – "Elements of Sensory and Educational Gardens in Landscape Architecture Practice"
13:00 – 13:20 Tijana Bogovac – "Nature Play, Risky Play, and Their Importance for Children's Well-being"
13:20 – 13:40 Tijana Jovanović Petrović and Tatjana Radaković – KidHub – "Children as Partners in Designing Sustainable Environmental Solutions through the Application of the Designathon Method"Deca kao partneri u dizajniranju održivih ekoloških rešenja kroz primenu Dizajnaton metoda”
13:40 – 14:00 Discussion
Brief Biographies of Participants:
Dr. András Albert Halbritter is a biologist and researcher with a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology focusing on soil-plant-microorganism interactions. His research area includes school gardens and various opportunities for outdoor learning environments. At the Apáczai Csere János Faculty of the Széchenyi István University in Győr, he prepares students to teach environmental and natural science programs through school garden management courses. He works as an expert at the Hungarian Climate Protection Association and is the founder and board member of the Iskolakertekért – Foundation - School Gardens Foundation of Hungary.
Sabina Kerić is the founder and president of the eco-social enterprise Ekonaut. She develops projects based on sustainability and participatory principles in spatial planning and design processes. Her work focuses on promoting green economy and exploring solutions that enhance public spaces and utilize common goods as places for culture and play.
Vladimir Milutinović is a landscape architect and horticulturist with extensive experience in designing and maintaining green spaces of various purposes. He is a collaborator in teaching nursery production and urban horticulture at the Faculty of Forestry, Department of Nursery Production. He works on promoting the preservation of indigenous fruit varieties in Serbia and educating about organic food production. He is also a collaborator with Ekonaut in the project "Initiative for Urban Garden Communities" and serves as the president of the Association for Landscape Horticulture.
Tijana Bogovac is an educator who advocates for outdoor play and risky play concepts. During her studies in Scandinavian countries, she gained insight into advanced practices of children's outdoor activities and aims to make the knowledge and significance of these games accessible and respected in her community. She develops outdoor and risky play practices in kindergartens and shares her knowledge through accredited seminars titled “"Nature Play, Risky Play,"” of which she is the author.
Tijana Jovanović Petrović Petrović works on the development of co-creative initiatives in education, particularly empowering children to actively participate in society by creating sustainable solutions for environmental challenges in collaboration with adults. KidHub is an organization focused on improving education through the design and implementation of programs focused on informal education, culture, and social innovations. Its representatives are part of the international educational program Designathon and ambassadors of the "Education for Social Innovation" program.
The event is open to everyone interested in contributing to the topic of designing green spaces according to the needs of children and local communities. Our aim is to raise awareness of the importance of natural settings for the daily lives of children and older generations, as well as to connect stakeholders involved in creating and developing places for children to stay in an inspiring natural context from various sectors. We ourselves represent a group of individuals and organizations from various sectors: pedagogy, ecology, education, landscape architecture, environmental protection, social activism, and more.
The project is supported by the Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City of Belgrade and is implemented in partnership with the associations Kidhub, the creative hub Nova Iskra, the informal group "Outdoor Games," and others.
The project is implemented with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of the United Kingdom under the Advocacy Support Program "Explore - Empower," implemented by the Trag Foundation..
