Another Parenting Center Opened in Sremska Mitrovica
Parenting Centers, that Novak Djokovic Foundation is opening with our partners Generali Insurance Serbia and The Human Safety Net, keep “sprouting” all over Serbia. Maja Kremic – NDF National Director and Dragan Filipovic – President of the Executive Board of Generali Insurance Serbia, opened Center No.7 in Sremska Mitrovica today.
Since last weekend, it’s been all about number 7! Within our “Support, NOT perfection” program (SNP), we opened another Parenting Center in “Pcelica“ (Little Bee) preschool in Sremska Mitrovica. Centers represent a unique project that is being implemented in Serbia for the very first time and it emerged with the aim to further empower the SNP participants in order to take better care of their children. The funds have been secured through The Human Safety Net’s “Scale Up Impact“ – an innovative multi-year strategy for amplifying the social impact for the most vulnerable families and aspiring entrepreneurs.
With the project having commenced in September, the cities that have gotten their Centers are: Kovacica, Pancevo, Sabac, Bac, Jagodina, Sremska Mitrovica, Uzice. During 2021 and 2022, a total of 15 Centers will be opened.
“The opening of this new Parenting Center in Sremska Mitrovica is a great indicator of the importance we place on parenting in our SNP workshops. We at the NDF, together with our long-term partners, are rather pleased because the education, support, and experience that parents and caregivers take from our workshops will play a crucial role in the development of their children. As always, the partners and we will keep overseeing the whole process, while making sure that all our Centers are are recognized by a friendly atmosphere, top-notch conditions, and the impact they will have on families’ lives,” said Maja Kremic, NDF National Director.
Support, warmth, sincerity, directness, and mutual respect are the values by which parents are at the workshops are led. By discussing different topics such as discipline, unacceptable behavior, and emotion management, they are strengthening their capacities in order to develop a more constructive and stimulating relationship with their children. Today, we are happy for extending our mission to Sremska Mitrovica!” – added Smiljana Grujic, NDF Head of programs.
“The year highlighted by uncertainty and the continuation of the pandemic has only strengthened our friendship with the Novak Djokovic Foundation, as well as our mutual values and the ever-growing wish to help others. Hence plenty of humanitarian activity, among which a significant place is occupied by the Parenting Centers in 15 cities in Serbia. I am glad that we will thus enable parents and caregivers to seek professional advice, acquire new skills, and exchange experiences””all of which will contribute to their being better at this most challenging role,” retorted Dragan Filipovic, President of the Executive Board and CEO of Generali Insurance Serbia.
“The opening of this Parenting Center is just a continuation of a successful collaboration with the Novak Djokovic Foundation and their partners, that successfully started with the implementation of the “Support, NOT perfection” program in 2019. I am thrilled because we furnished this space together, where workshops will be taking place,” concluded Biljana Cvijetic, director of “Pcelica”, a.k.a. The Queen Bee of The Little Bee.
By the end of 2023, the “Support, NOT perfection” program will have encompassed an additional 2800 and almost 5600 children, in close collaboration with government institutions and local authorities.