Knowledge transfer - the future of Zenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina
This very successful meeting was organized in cooperation with the i-platform and the City Administration of Zenica and, thanks to numerous connections, united the people of Zenica, currently stationed from Croatia to Canada. However, the largest number of representatives of the Zenica diaspora, who attended last night's gathering, are active in European countries such as Germany, France and Switzerland, and it is in these countries that they are recording impressive results.
First „Zenica Meet Up“
As previously emphasized, this meeting was organized thanks to the successful cooperation of our organization and the Zenica City Administration, headed by the Mayor of this city, Mr. Fuad Kasumović.
Ms. Maša Škrbić, expert associate for marketing, promotion and investments of the City of Zenica thanked the representatives of the i-platform for recognizing the City as a local and strategic partner, spoke about the fact that the City of Zenica for many years, thanks to the developed Department for Diaspora, has e - a register that serves as a kind of link between the people of Zenica living abroad and their city, and added that this year's Manifestation "Days of the Diaspora" will be held in August, as part of the famous Zenica festival "Zenica Summer Fest".
At the same time, the participants of this event were addressed by Mr. Kemo Sarač, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who supports these and similar initiatives, whose idea creator is the i-platform. Initially, he introduced the Zenica diaspora to the already traditional "Meet Ups" that we organize, such as Kladanj and Živinice, and spoke about the importance of successful cooperation with even more successful emigrants, emphasizing that so far insufficient work has been done in this field.
Finally, Mr. Aldin Vrškić addressed the participants in front of the i-platform, who presented our activities in detail, and announced the organization of similar meetings in other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Zenica returnees
Although, according to Mr. Sarač, this topic, primarily in the media, is insufficiently discussed, there is a certain percentage of people who have spent part of their lives outside the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but, for the love of homeland, returned and they write success stories here. There are many such examples in Zenica.
Dijana Muminović has been studying and living in the United States since 1997, but she has never, at least emotionally, been able to distance herself from her country and her city. She thought a lot about how to contribute to the development of Zenica, and thanks to the experience gained in that distant country, she originally held numerous workshops in Zenica, brought famous Americans from the world of photography, and finally photographed refugees. However, all of the above was not enough, so Ms. Muminović will finally return to Zenica in 2018, register a school of photography and, thanks to it, gather all age generations in one place. Currently, the mentioned school of photography is financially dependent exclusively on local and foreign grants. Although, as Muminović claims, it was a risky decision, she did not repent in the least.
And the young Asja Kravić thought in a similar way. This young woman from Zenica, currently employed in a private family company, spent a good part of her life in European cities. After completing her undergraduate studies in Vienna, she moved to Milan, where she obtained a master's degree in business. Nevertheless, Ms. Kravić also decided to return to her hometown of Zenica, whose potential she undoubtedly believes in. "Using established acquaintances, but also the fact that most young people speak at least one foreign language, we can certainly attract the attention of foreign investors," adds Ms. Kravić.
Finally, the participants of the first "Zenica Meet Up" were addressed by Mr. Husein Aškraba, director of a private company, which in Zenica employs about twenty workers. Although this decision was not an easy one, Mr. Aškraba, together with his employees, has slowly gained the trust of foreign partners, and is now extremely proud of this story.
The participants of last night's meeting expressed satisfaction with their presence, but also emphasized that they are very much looking forward to the next gathering of the Zenica diaspora.
In a month, in the same place, we will write new successful stories, gather even more successful representatives of the Zenica diaspora and connect them with the very successful people of Zenica who still live and work in their city.
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