February the 11th, 2022 - Croatian schoolchildren are being offered ways in which to develop and then showcase their entrepreneurial talents, and it's been paying off. Croatian schoolchildren, more specifically those from down in Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Split-Dalmatia County, have a lot to boast about.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, ten teams of young people from primary and secondary schools who want to initiate positive changes in their local communities participated in the first UPSHIFT workshop this weekend in Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva County.

The three teams of Croatian schoolchildren won cash prizes in the amount of 7,500 kuna and mentoring support during the project implementation by the decision of the expert jury. A total of 35 students participated in teams of three to five students. The winners of the UPSHIFT workshop in the Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties are:

Team 4: Josipa O., Lucija R. and Josipa B. from the Commercial and Trade School in Split, which will focus on educating young people about sex education.

Team 6: Petra S., Karmela K., Vanja S. and Sasha S. from the Vladimir Nazor Elementary School in Ploce, whose project will conduct workshops for the production of didactic subjects intended for children in need.

Team 8: Lovre K., Lana M. and Danijela K. from the Radic Brothers Elementary School in Bracevic, who will try to solve the challenge of the lack of a library in the regional school with the project.

So far, 19 counties have participated

To date, more than 300 Croatian schoolchildren have participated in the UPSHIFT programme across 19 Croatian counties, who have gathered in teams to develop 70 solutions, of which 34 received financial and mentoring support for further implementation. By participating in the programme, young people aged 13 to 19 created solutions to challenges in the fields of ecology and environmental protection, education, inclusion and the fight against discrimination, the quality of life of young people, and many other topics important to young people.

UPSHIFT is a three-day workshop that combines entrepreneurial and team spirit, innovation and practical knowledge, and mentoring support to address the challenges that young people face in their local communities. In order to participate in the workshop, young people gather in teams of three to five members and describe in the application the problems they want to solve. The programme is jointly implemented by the UNICEF Office for Croatia and HUKI within the UNICEF Youth Program me"ZABUM - for the future of youth".

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