The youth association “DictumFactum” Maglaj implements the project “Youth (for) one” within the framework of the project “Strengthening trust and cohesion in communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina ” .
In the past two years, members of the Youth Association “DictumFactum”, headed by Adi Softić, who is also the European Youth Ambassador for the Culture of the Western Balkans, at the Maglaj medieval fortress, realized contents under the common name “Maglaj SPIRIT WEEKEND”, which were talked about in Brussels. Young people wanted something Maglaan to happen in Gradina, to revive this valuable cultural monument during the summer, but also for young people to feel the charms of nightlife with good music and screenings of award-winning films from the region. It can be said that “Maglaj SPIRIT WEEKEND” is a continuation of the very successful project “EX FILES: Maglaj the way we loved it”.
They wanted something from Magla to happen in Gradina
Adi Softić does not hide that it took him to visit numerous festivals in the region and to realize that all these communities: Pula, Belgrade, Novi Sad and many others, have something in common, which is that they use pearls of medieval or pre-medieval architecture to connect with someone modern, cultural trends. “We didn’t want SFF or EXIT to take place in our Gradina, but something of ours – from Magla. At one point, we realized that we had never had an open-air cinema, so we thought about organizing a drive-in cinema on the elementary school grounds, but we still decided on Gradina, where there is an initial infrastructure, a small auditorium and a stage. Last year, we came across the support of the EU through the initiative of European youth ambassadors, and I can say with pleasure that we are still the best initiative that happened in the three-year cycle of the youth ambassador project. We were talked about in Brussels at the meeting of the European Commission as one of the potentially big festivals in the making ,” Softić proudly reminded. ” Maglaj SPIRIT WEEKEND” has in a short time become a major project of interest to numerous international organizations and partners. Softić emphasizes that the true desire of everyone gathered around this project is an avalanche of investments in Gradin. “We are aware that it is neglected, that with the resources we now have, we can only prepare it for an event, but if this really needs to become a bigger festival, the involvement of the Canton, the Federation and the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina is needed in order to restore, conserve and restore it,” he added . is Softić.
Organized events attracted close to 1,300 visitors
At the end of July this year, the second “Maglaj SPIRIT WEEKEND” took place, during which you could watch the films “The Summer when I Learned to Fly”, “Žicka” and “Tabija”, dance to BROWN SUGAR RnB, and young cultural ambassadors from the countries met of the Western Balkans and high school students from Žepče, Doboj and Maglaj. According to the organizers’ estimates, nearly 1,300 visitors, from Maglajka and Maglajli, as well as guests from Tuzla, Lukavac, Sarajevo, Zenica, gathered in Gradina in two evenings . This was certainly one of the most massive events in Gradina in the past three decades. And it is already known, the next SPIRIT WEEKEND will be held on July 26 and 27, 2024. Mirza Ramović, a web developer with ten years of youth activism behind him, told us that youth cooperation is very important, because it is an opportunity for young people to exchange experiences with like-minded people from other cities that they might not have met. In such conditions, some new, unique ideas are created, which probably would not have happened if each community was left to act on its own. “My biggest motivation for engaging in activism is the desire to organize or do something that will be interesting and useful for young people. I am proud of every project in which I have participated, but I would highlight Maglaj Sprit Weekend the most – an outdoor cinema project that we have been organizing for two years, which has managed to attract a large number of my fellow citizens, most of whom are young people eager for different events in our the city. In addition to gathering young people from Maglaj, Doboj and Žepče, he managed to bring young people from our region to Maglaj. We have shown that young people want to work and create a positive environment for themselves and their community. “You could see from the reactions of our fellow citizens that they were mostly positively surprised by the appearance of the new event and what the young people have achieved through their work,” Mirza Ramović told us in the interview.
Gathered young people from three cities
In the meantime, there was an initiative for a large project called “Youth (for) one” as part of the project “Strengthening trust and cohesion in communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina “, whereby the Association “DictumFactum”, which at the end of the year celebrates 10 years of work, got the opportunity to realize the contents in Maglaj, Žepč and Doboj, with the aim of uniting high school students and students. The project is financed by the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments of the European Union within the Instrument for Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation, and is implemented jointly by the EU, the United Nations, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Council of Europe, with the support of local authorities .
“Besides their geographical proximity, these three communities have many complementary challenges when it comes to youth work – from solving the issue of space for young people to establishing an adequate activity plan to bring young people together.” Our primary goal was for young people to get to know each other, to learn about their similarities and differences in ways of thinking about certain social phenomena and the needs they have. In Žepč, we had a festival of urban culture with the painting of murals expressing the opinions of young people on the topic of ‘to leave or stay’, in Doboj we felt the need to showcase the talents of young people, so a photo exhibition was set up in the Social Center. The second part of the project is the debate school as part of the youth exchange. What I am particularly happy about is the fact that young people spend weekends at each other’s houses, and we also organized an event for young people with long-time activist Nataša Đorđić from the ToPeer organization in Doboj, who fights for tolerance and acceptance of diversity. On Matinski vis, we hung out with members of the GSS Žepče and enjoyed the adrenaline park. Our goal was to point out the power of volunteerism, because GSS Žepče is led by volunteer forces of young and old people. In Maglaj, we discussed the topic of ‘Spaces for young people’ with representatives of the local authorities, because our town, as the only local community in this region, will soon get a Youth Resource Center. We got ideas from the young people about what such a Center should contain”, Softić told us about the project.
The voice of young people is heard and respected more and more often
Among the participants of the “Youth (for) One” project are high school students Abas Derlić from Žepče and Aleksa Lazić from Doboj. They are also young activists in their local communities. They believe that, as time goes by, young people have more and more space for their voice to be heard and that there are more and more people who want to hear them. “The event for young people in Doboj had extremely positive results. We got the opportunity to improve our communication skills with our peers. This activity additionally motivated us to organize a large exhibition of young photographers from three communities, with an accompanying evening of poetry and murals. In this way, we want to draw attention to the creativity and joint work of young people, as well as to their connection on unimaginably large levels”, Aleksa Lazić told us and added. “Youth cooperation is necessary in order to awaken the most positive in young people. Many high school students are not even aware of how many opportunities and changes they can create with a little effort and ambition. The exchange of ideas is the best way to awaken and inspire young people and motivate them to fight for what they need”. And Abas Derlić is proud of the content organized in his Žepč. “The event was called ‘Art, streets, etc…’ and its aim was to connect as many young people as possible from our local communities. It was a festival of urban culture that consisted of the creation of murals with motifs of our country, and it carried a clear message that we really have a reason to stay and build ourselves as people in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Young people participated in the creation of the mural with the instructions of a local artist. In the second part of the festival, we played street basketball with rap music, and the festival left a positive impression on our fellow citizens and we heard nothing but words of praise, even though this is the first festival of this type in our community. I would like to emphasize that the event was organized from beginning to end by a group of young people, my friends and I”, Abbas told us and pointed out that youth cooperation is important because of mutual support, motivation, sharing of ideas and interests in various aspects of today. “Through youth cooperation, I met a lot of hard-working, active and promising young people throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I got into a situation where I have friends in almost every city in our country,” emphasized Abas Derlić.
By the end of the project cycle, that is, by January of the following year, a cultural event is planned within the framework of the “Youth (for) One” project, which should take place in Maglaj. “I am glad that within two three-day trainings we had the opportunity to host excellent and inspiring lecturers: Dr. Spec Sanja Obralić-Učambarlić, at one time a student of the Maglaj High School generation, a gold student of the Faculty of Dentistry UNSA and owner of a successful private business, activist and local patriot, M.Sc. Saša Stanić, IT expert, former athlete, long-time activist and entrepreneur from Maglaj, Nadina Gradaščević, business advisor and consultant for the development of leadership and leadership skills, and Adis Mustabašić, IT expert but also one of the co-founders of ABSL BiH”, added Adi Softić and continued. “When we act together, the chances for big projects and changes are much greater than when each local community, which essentially has the same problem, acts individually. We have similar challenges that we face and it is trivial not to think that we can work together. We can, and we can achieve a lot!” Adi Softić told us at the end of the conversation. All youth activities within the project were supported by local communities – the city of Doboj and the municipalities of Maglaj and Žepče, cultural institutions, galleries and community centers.
Written by: Nejra Bradarić
This story was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “LOCAL WORKS” program of the American Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The author and “Network for Peace Building” are solely responsible for the content of the story. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
