Photo by Bar Cohen

 

 

 

Perhaps the best way to describe the Mission innovation seminar is to compare it to the „Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon“ game.

 

As a diplomat of „general practice“ focused on bilateral political relations and without any experience in innovation and startups, it’s fair to say that Mission:Innovation enriched my knowledge of the Startup Nation by and large.

 

It helped me understand and grasp the Israeli innovation ecosystem, the way it’s structured, its key players, the role of state institutions, multinational companies, and academia, relations between them, and the interaction between the local ecosystem and European ecosystems and economies. Having learned that, it was much easier for me to map the ecosystem of my own country and its approximate position within the European ecosystems. Some of the lecturers with a long history in the local Startup industry shared their experiences, wins, and failures. These lessons can be beneficial for my country’s present-day ecosystem and its future development. The diplomatic innovator’s compass practice and the Country branding workshop gave me know-how and necessary tools to present the needs, interests, and comparative advantages of my country and the best way to pursue them vis-à-vis Israel and the international community in general.

 

In addition, the Mission Innovation seminar was quite timely organized because it happened just a month before the official opening of the Serbian Economic and Innovation Office in Jerusalem (Nov 2021). Brand new knowledge and contacts from startups, government institutions, and academia are great support for our coming activities with Israeli partners.

 

However, as I’ve said earlier, as a traditional diplomat, I enjoyed the other layer of Mission:Innovation - the game of Six degrees of the EIT Hub Israel. The Hub, indeed. It gave me great insight into the Israeli way of communicating, networking, thinking, doing business and taking risks. In other words, the seminar, the way it had been organized, led, and executed, showed the power of networking and collaboration. In a week, around a hundred people (from the Faroe Islands to the Negev) from different backgrounds met, spent time together, exchanged ideas, brainstormed, made friendships and business connections. They learned about each other. As it’s a great seminar on the Israeli innovation ecosystem, it is also a cultural boot camp that offers European diplomats tools to understand and deal with Israeli colleagues and their complex society and culture.  

 

 

 

Dushan Vujovic

Counselor

Embassy of Serbia to Israel

 

M:I Generation 2022 - contact EIT HUB Israel