The ASUS Youth Association from Hadžići proves that the effort, commitment and hard work ultimately pay off. Young people involved in the work of the Amateur Sports Association S Hadžići are gathered around the idea of creating a better tomorrow, and through various activities create opportunities for young people and improve the quality of life in the local community.
The Association has so far had a number of successfully implemented projects, and one of the recently implemented projects is “Hadžići through a lens” for which the web platform eMuzej.ba – Virtual photo museum of Hadžići was created. The platform presents the history of the local community recorded with a camera, and the ultimate goal is to open a museum.
In addition, the Association actively worked on the opening of the first Hub in Hadžići together with the Cultural Sports and Recreation Center Hadžići, which officially started operating in December last year. The newly opened Hub is a meeting place for young people who will be able to use the space for socializing, learning, starting a business, exchanging ideas, all in a relaxed and motivating atmosphere. Young people have at their disposal audio-visual equipment necessary for holding meetings and making presentations, and in addition, within the Hub, there is a specially designed space for socializing.
The Association was involved in various activities of other organizations such as activities of the coalition “Pod lupom”, support for the initiative to change the law on electricity of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and analyzed and monitored the Hadžići Municipal Council, the results of which were published late last year.
The public presentation of the collected information drew the attention of young people and others in the local community to the fact that voting on initiatives at the sessions of the Municipal Council was prevented for over eight months. Working in the service of citizens and leaving political disagreements aside were the Association’s requests to councilors as the only way to improve the conditions and quality of life of all citizens of Hadžići Municipality.
In addition to the work of the Municipal Council, the work of local communities in Hadžići was analyzed, after which data on the number of sessions, proposed and implemented activities for a period of four years were presented in order to inform the public and emphasize the importance of participation in election processes.
In order to unite citizens, overcome prejudices and stereotypes, WinterFest was organized – a winter festival, which was visited by over 35,000 people in Hadžići. Visitors had the opportunity to enjoy 20 musical performances, and the futsal competition gathered over 1,200 participants. The festival was also held in Bugojno, and the installation of the ice rink made the holiday season even better.
The coronavirus pandemic left great consequences on the economy in the most developed countries in the world, so a large number of projects were stopped, but that did not disrupt the work of the Association. According to ASUS, they adjusted their business to the online format in a timely manner, and dedicated the time of the strictest measures – during the lockdown, to the internal analysis of the business in order to reveal the weak points of the organization.
“The last two years of the pandemic have been especially difficult, both for everyone and for us, due to the impossibility of implementing projects. We used the period to strengthen internal capacities with the support of the Local Works Team. After the self-assessment, we worked on the development of rules and procedures, some of which have already been adopted. Our goal is to strengthen the Association through such activities, to have transparent procedures, which will ultimately facilitate the process of achieving new cooperation,” said Tarik Fatić, President of the Association.
Through the support of the USAID Local Works Program dedicated to strengthening local organizations, the Association had the opportunity to go through a process of improving its activities and achieving the most productive results.
Currently, the Association is working hard on developing a strategic plan that will define the strategic directions and Association’s directions in the next five years, which will ultimately make their goals clearer by simplifying their implementation through planned activities. Through trainings dedicated to various topics, the representatives of the Association improved their knowledge and skills, and by following the instructions for drafting documentation and setting clear business rules, the Association became a stable organization and one of the leaders in the local community.
The ASUS Youth Association continues to work actively within the local community. If you need more information about ASUS, please visit their official Facebook page.
