Supporting the site is really about helping the community tell its story better and making sure the opportunities connected to that history can grow in the future.
This need is actually being met in some really important ways already. The team at Stobi works hard every day to protect the site, welcome visitors and make sure this history doesn’t just disappear. They’re really dedicated to what they do, and you can tell they care a lot about protecting something that belongs not just to their community, but to the whole country.
At the same time, like most good things in life, there are always more ideas than there is time and money. That means there are still opportunities to build more partnerships, get more people excited about the site and help local businesses and young people see how they might be part of the story too.
My role hasn’t been to come in with some big master plan (I definitely don’t have one of those :D). A lot of my work has really just been about connecting people, sharing ideas and asking questions like “Who else should be at this table?” and “How could this create opportunities for the community?”
One thing I’ve learned is that helping a community doesn’t always mean doing something huge. Sometimes it just means showing up, listening, making introductions and helping good ideas grow a little bit stronger. And honestly, sometimes that’s where the real impact starts.
