The fact that the countries of the Western Balkans have significant potential for attracting digital nomads was confirmed by the second edition of the Cross Border Coworking Conference, which took place in Jahorina on Monday, October 10th and Tuesday, October 11th
The conference started with speed networking and a cocktail party on Monday evening when more than 100 participants met and exchanged experiences in a relaxed atmosphere. Connecting the participants turned out to be an excellent prerequisite for more open conversation and active participation of all at the Conference, whose program on Tuesday lasted more than seven hours. During the presentation, panel discussions and workshops, 19 speakers from more than 10 countries shared their thoughts and experiences with the participants on the current offer of the countries in the region, ways to improve the region, tools for strengthening the local community and examples of good practice in Europe.
All the speakers were unanimous – the countries of the Western Balkans have a strong potential to become a hotspot in the future, that is, a desirable destination for digital nomads. With the joint work of the private, public and civil sectors, this goal will be easier to achieve. The Conference resulted in recommendations for strengthening the offer for digital nomads – from the recognition of various events and coworking spaces as tools for community creation to the adjustment of administrative and legislative frameworks to the needs of digital nomads. The speakers highlighted the importance of cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkan region, where it was pointed out that the offers of these countries can complement each other and with hard work lead to the exchange of digital nomads, but also the development of more formal initiatives through the launch of a joint association of digital nomads in the entire region.
As an example of good practice, the importance of taking care of each other was particularly emphasized, thanks to which all members contribute to the development of the local community. Once again the participants of the Conference had the opportunity to hear all the advantages of attracting digital nomads, but also to hear the characteristics that make this area stand out, and which digital nomads value as important facts for choosing a destination – from the hospitality of people and natural beauty to the relatively low cost of living and security. It was concluded that it is necessary to work intensively on the development of a community that will provide an adequate welcome to digital nomads and include them in everyday segments of life.
Cross Border Coworking Conference 2022 is organized by INTERA Technology Park, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis and Proaktiv through the Cross Border Coworking Cooperation project financed by the Western Balkans Fund and the European Union within the Call for Regional Project Proposals “Support to the Promotion of Civil Society regional activities in the Western Balkans”. The organization of the Conference was supported by the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program and the companies Salto Systems, Elektroprivreda Crne Gore, NSoft and ZenDev, and the media sponsors are Dnevni avaz, Bljesak, Nezavisne novine, Večernji list, RDV and Radio Sarajevo.
