Earlier this year, EFIL launched a project to boost the development of the young EFIL Member Organisations in Slovenia and Croatia. In this project, the AFS Partner Organisations in Slovenia and Croatia will be using the support services of one new combined office, based in Zagreb (Croatia).
All stakeholders met to put together a “Joint Development Plan AFS Croatia and AFS Slovenia 2016-2018”. To sponsor the new combined office, EFIL had launched a call for financial support. No less than 8 EFIL Member Organisations confirmed their participation in the project, and their combined financial contributions will guarantee the running of the “CROSLO Project” for the next 20 months. A big thank you goes to our AFS Partners in Austria, Belgium Flanders, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, for their generous financial support. A great gesture of solidarity and an example for the AFS network at large.
A staff member for the new office has been recruited, Tinka Valtl, an active Slovenian volunteer who has attended several EFIL training events and meetings over the past years. Tinka will work closely together with Tosja Kobler-Jovanovic, National Director of AFS Slovenia, and Sonja Kezeric, National Director of AFS Croatia.
Now, we are happy to inform that – as planned – the new combined office started its operations as of 1 September. The project budget covers – among other things – the rental of the office space in Zagreb, where Tinka Valtl has started working full time as the Programme Director for the project, serving both AFS Croatia and AFS Slovenia.
Earlier this month, both Tinka Valtl and Sonja Kezeric were invited by Intercultura – our Member Organisation in Italy – to come to Colle di Val d’Elsa, where their head office is based, where they got a training on finances and pricing (thank you, Intercultura!). From EFIL’s side, Inga Menke – Partner Development Coordinator – is closely following up on the developments. Later this autumn, she will go to Zagreb for meetings with all the key people.