The fifth edition of the “Talents together” conference was held yesterday in the Palace of Serbia, organized by the Returning Point program. The one-day conference, titled “Back to the future,” is held annually to establish and nurture connections between talents who study and work abroad and those who live and work in Serbia, as well as support the return members of the diaspora to Serbia. The conference was attended by more than 300 students, scientists, businesspeople, talented individuals from the diaspora, and representatives of diaspora engagement programs and organizations.
The meeting was opened by the President of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, who spoke about specific programs and initiatives that have been implemented and planned in the past few years to encourage and facilitate the return of members of the Serbian diaspora. The Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović, also addressed the gathering, using her example to highlight the opportunity that returnees from abroad must contribute to the country’s development with their knowledge and experience. The minister without portfolio in charge of the diaspora, Đorđe Milićević, emphasized the immeasurable importance of cooperation between the motherland and the diaspora, and Arnaud Guillon, director of the Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the region, also addressed the gathering, who provided an insight into the projects implemented by this body.
Our founding partner Bogdan Gecić had the honor of opening the afternoon working session with his inspirational presentation “How do we go back to the future?” where he offered a practical vision for accelerated economic and social development and effective transfer of knowledge through outstanding high-level education programs abroad with the return of our experts to Serbia, inspired by best practices in building our state and society in the past.
Returning Point is an organization building bridges between Serbian society and its diaspora. It aims to support repatriates returning to Serbia, help business ideas grow locally, and assist scientific and academic exchange and projects while promoting better connections between Serbia and its diaspora. The podcast features conversations with people from Serbia that live abroad and people that have returned to Serbia, successful individuals, and teams that work in Serbia.
