Revising the strategic plan

In 2015, Association Atina began the process of strategic planning, which aimed to enable the creation of a sustainable and growth-oriented strategic plan of action and organizational development. As a result, Atina’s strategic platform for the period 2015-2020 has been defined.

In the following period, Atina launched a number of projects in response to the needs arising from the escalation of refugee crisis. Mobile teams, made up of cultural mediators and case managers, have been formed in order to provide assistance on the ground to the most vulnerable persons from the refugee population - women and children. Also, Atina opened shelters for the accommodation of persons from this population who survived the experience of human trafficking and gender-based violence.

In April 2015, Bagel Bejgl shop was opened, a social enterprise of the Association Atina whose income is directed toward support programs for victims of human trafficking in Serbia. Bagel Bejgl has also become a space for training and practice of Atina's beneficiaries, and the opportunity for them to acquire knowledge, skills and experience that will help them find future employment more easily.

In addition to all of the above, Atina has also entered the licensing process. After the employees have become licensed professional workers, the licensing of services was next, in order to continue working on the sustainability of the existing programs. Each step of the organization is adjusted to the trends and policies that are constantly being monitored and examined in order to ensure timely response to current needs.

For these reasons, a revision of the strategic plan followed during 2017, which has, among other things, aimed to make changes to the existing system in order for it to become more responsive to the needs of Atina’s beneficiaries. This process required a reassessment of the vision, mission, values and target groups, as well as suggestions and amendments that accompany the current situation. The key aspects of Atina's work, which at the same time constitute a part of the organization’s identity, have been recognized, and an assessment was made of the direction in which Atina will move in the future.

The entire process of revising the strategic plan also represented a great opportunity to review all the achievements of the organization during the past two years, which certainly contributed to creating new energy for further work and efforts in the field of combating human trafficking and gender-based violence.