Participation of WBAA member in the ASAF Annual General Forum

On behalf of the Western Balkans Alumni Association (WBAA), our Board member Milan Stojanović participated in the ASAF (African Students and Alumni Forum) Annual General Forum, which took place from 2nd to 4th June 2023 in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

The ASAF General Forum is the largest annual event, similar to the WBAA's General Assembly, which gathers around a hundred of the most active and motivated alumni from across the entire African continent. Its purpose is to summarise the previous year, confirm plans for the next year, and elect new representatives of the association.

In addition to the Western Balkans Alumni Association, representatives from other affiliated organisations such as OCEANS (Organisation for Cooperation, Exchange and Networking: Student & Alumni network of international exchange programmes), EMA (Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association), and ESAA (the Erasmus+ Students and Alumni Alliance) also participated in the ASAF General Forum. Milan was the sole non-African participant in the event.

Milan presented the activities and results of the WBAA so far, with particular emphasis on the WBAA's regional projects and its two largest research endeavors to date: the Tracer Stadium and the Book Chapter "WBAA as Positive Deviance (in the Western Balkans)". Milan made himself available to answer any questions from curious ASAF members regarding idea creation, planning, implementation, and reporting. These projects are something new for ASAF members, and the WBAA has been dealing with them successfully since 2019.

As part of the three-day program, open debates were held on various topics such as member activation and regional collaboration. An intercultural evening was organised, where each participant presented their national costume and traditional food from their respective countries. There was little sleep, and all free time was utilised for networking and social activities.

Last but not least, Milan took the opportunity to visit the Safari and the globally famous Maasai tribe, bringing the spirit of the Western Balkans to their traditional community.

It was a fruitful and exciting experience, and we hope that WBAA members will continue to participate in future events of this kind!

Milan Stojanovic

Novi Sad, Serbia, 19.06.2023