It pulled me out of the bubble and allowed to see the bigger picture
Josip Luša
Inclusion and Diversity (Croatia)
In the beginning SALTO was more like a buzzword that would pop up now and then.
When I started out at the NA, I was a project officer in the field of vocational education and training. In this role, you process a lot of e-mails, do a lot of administrative work, ensure compliance with regulations and generally try to meet the deadlines. There was not a lot of time to follow the strategic developments at the European level, especially for those among us who were less experienced. That being said, SALTO was in the beginning more like a buzzword that would pop up now and then, but not all project officers had a clear understanding of its role or activities.
At that time, inclusion and diversity, for example, were mostly seen as a priority relevant for the youth sector. The general mindset in the VET field was that we were there to focus on vocational competencies, not on the broader social issues that SALTOs were advocating for. However, things shifted when inclusion and diversity were made a horizontal priority in 2021. It was at this point that the Croatian NA decided to set up a working group on inclusion and diversity and I decided to join. This decision was in a way a turning point for me as well as it pulled me out of the bubble I had been in for five years and allowed me to see the bigger picture. I began to realise that mobility projects are about more than just sector-specific impact. I embraced the idea that Erasmus+ is not an elite club for the privileged but a platform for everyone. I was fortunate to meet programme participants for whom Erasmus+ was not just a learning experience but a life-changing opportunity and this reshaped my perspective and reinforced my belief in the broader social role these projects can play.
In late 2021 we started working on our application to run the SALTO Resource Centre for Inclusion and Diversity in education and training.
Once we realised that the activities implemented by our working group (kudos to Ema, Lorena and Matea) were starting to show positive results at the national level, our management supported the idea of expanding our efforts to the European level. And so in late 2021 we started working on our application to run the SALTO Resource Centre for Inclusion and Diversity in Education and Training. I still remember the excitement and the sense of accomplishment upon finding out that the European Commission approved our application. We were thrilled to see our ideas recognised at a European level and highly motivated moving forward.
Our SALTO began operating in April 2022 and the beginnings were quite challenging. There was only two of us (kudos to Dorina) and we were starting from scratch. On top of implementing relevant activities for our stakeholders, we had to focus on building visibility, as many people mistakenly confused us with other resource centres in the network, particularly the SALTO ID in the youth sector, which had been around for over 20 years.
However, with the support of the European Commission and our NA management, as well as the motivated colleagues from other NAs and the always-ready-to-help SALTO network, we managed to overcome these challenges. The team eventually grew to four (kudos to Petra, Tajana, Dora and Lidija) and I think our SALTO is now successfully established as a valuable piece of the Erasmus+ puzzle.
It was undoubtedly one of the most intense and rewarding periods of my professional life.
I was with SALTO from April 2022 till October 2024. While two-and-a-half years may not seem like much, it was undoubtedly one of the most intense and rewarding periods of my professional life. I was fortunate to work in a collaborative environment alongside incredibly motivated colleagues full of fresh and innovative ideas. I was able to learn how colleagues from around Europe use different approaches to engage vulnerable groups and create positive change across different contexts. But above all, I got the opportunity to shape and support meaningful initiatives that made a real difference. Seeing the tangible impact these initiatives have on individuals and communities is something that will stay with me and guide my future work regardless of where I find myself.
Helping people turn good ideas into impactful projects was rewarding and fulfilling.
My name is Josip and I am currently a project manager involved in implementation of research and innovation projects within the framework of the Horizon Europe programme. Before diving into the world of project management, I studied languages and worked as a journalist, teacher, and translator in both Croatia and Germany. It all changed in 2015, when I joined the Croatian Erasmus+ national agency and started working with organisations interested in implementation mobility projects and strategic partnerships.
Life as a project officer was far from glamorous as it involved a lot of behind-the-scenes work with admin stuff and paperwork, but helping people turn good ideas into impactful projects was rewarding and fulfilling. It became even more so when I joined the national working group on inclusion and diversity and helped develop strategic guidelines, launch awareness-raising campaigns and organise thematic meetings and workshops. It was then that I first became more meaningfully involved with the work of the SALTO network.
