The End of Futures Leaders Summit 2023: 3 days, 500+ attendees, one place

The Future Leaders Summit recently concluded with resounding success, bringing together over 500 attendees who immersed themselves in three days of innovation, collaboration, and insightful discussions.

This year, we've invested over 100.000 BAM for 300+ students to attend this event completely free of charge, covering their travel, accommodation and entrance fees. The students came from all around the country.

During the 3 amazing days, from the 15th to the 17th of December, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation organized the third annual Futures Leaders Summit. This year we expanded the topic of the Summit, inviting extraordinary individuals from STEM and non-STEM fields to share their insights and expertise with our amazing audience.

We heard the stories of world-class leaders and companies about their ideas and how they are rethinking the present and reimagining the future. We delved into various topics including music, gaming, entrepreneurship, IoT, and much more.

Let’s have a more in-depth look into individual days and see what amazing keynote speeches, fireside chats, workshops, and panels we organized during the event.

Futures Leaders Summit - DAY ONE

The first day started strong and productive - dividing our attendees into three groups according to the tracks they were listening to and going to their designated locations.

This year, we had 3 incredible tracks:

Game On: The Potential of Digital Entertainment;
Building Transformative Communities;
Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Society.

The Game On attendees had the opportunity to visit the Friendly Fire Esports Arena and Tershouse, making their first interactive game and meeting the outstanding people behind Mad Head Games.

Over at the HTEC Group, the attendees of the second track had the opportunity to thoroughly learn and see the work of the company, as well as attend insightful leadership workshops by Gordana Buccisano and Resad Rovcanin at the HTEC Group and ZIRA facilities.

As the cherry on top of our three tracks, the attendees of track number 3 started their day off in FABLAB and DIZART, getting to know more about their projects, work, and overall mission. They had the opportunity to attend 3 amazing workshops held by Maida Cohodar-Husic, Amra Hasecic, and Mirza Pasic at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo.

Later that day, the official opening ceremony started in Dom mladih, Sarajevo where Milan Kusmuk - the chair of the BHFF Board of Directors welcomed us and started the amazing Futures Leaders Summit 2023 journey.

Just after that incredible opening speech, we arrived at our first keynote speech of the Summit - From Idea to Global Community: Change Starts With You - by the one and only Edhem ‘Eddie’ Custovic, co-founder of the BH Futures Foundation. Eddie showcased how the power of collective knowledge, global networks, and purpose-driven community can make a real impact on society.

The program was continued by the exclusive, “Vera Šnajder” Award Ceremony where we honored the legacy of the first female mathematician of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the first female dean of former Yugoslavia. On the stage, we had Amina Tucak-Smajic, last year’s “Vera Šnajder” Award recipient and professor and academic Mirjana Vukovic, one of Vera Šnajder’s students.

For more information about the ceremony, award, and the incredible winners of the “Vera Šnajder” 2023 Award, visit the following article.

We finished the first day of FLS by connecting and unwinding with other attendees and partners of the event during the Networking Party and Expo - with the amazing music provided by DJ YUBE.

Futures Leaders Summit: DAY TWO

Do we hear someone talking about tourism? As the first fireside chat of the event, we had the pleasure of listening to Sanja Kavaz, Nermin Mumic, and Nina Kovac chatting about the Uniting Power of Tourism. Together, we uncovered insights into the transformative potential of tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, empowering communities and promoting cultures.

Later on, we welcomed Sara Vanovac to the stage, talking and sharing her expertise about Quantum Technology, its Applications, and Implications. During this keynote, she demystifies the quantum world and addresses some of the most common misconceptions surrounding quantum technologies and their impact on society.

After a short break, we visited USAID Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their booth activity about 15 Reasons to Consider or Start a Career in Tourism and Hospitality - diving head first into the dynamic and rewarding world of tourism and hospitality.

Next on our program, we had Paul Cronin and Adriatic Metals speaking about sustainability and Innovative Technologies in Business. This panel brought together people with sustainability examples in businesses they run and discussed current challenges and opportunities for sustainability innovations.

Do you want to play a game with us? An insightful Keynote speech led by Almir Brljak about Navigating the Explosive Future of Video Games. With exclusive data and insights from across the industry, we heard from Almir that the XR gaming world is about to explode in a way that most working on flatscreen games are still unprepared for.

During the well-deserved and delicious lunch break, attendees had the opportunity to visit various companies and organizations - specifically the people at the BH Futures Foundation and Authority Partners booths. There they learned all about the local initiatives taken on by the BHFF scholars and engaged with the Authority Partner team, discussing tailored solutions for your business challenges.

Moving back to the main stage, we were learning about How AI Powers the Monetization of Music Streaming. In this keynote presented by Nermina Mumic, she shared insights about the latest trends in the music industry and showcased how Legitary’s patented, award-winning AI engine democratizes access to audit and valuation tools, bringing fairness and transparency to music streaming.

Next on the schedule was the amazing gaming panel about Navigating the Global Landscape of Gaming in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had the honor to dive into the dynamic world of gaming, exploring the opportunities and strategies that shape the “Leveling up Locally” phenomenon with Belma Ramic-Brkic, Daniel Wilen, Ivan Ramadan, Damir Halilovic and Slavisa Jovanovic.

Back to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation corner, we presented one of our greatest projects - the Tutoring Program where high school students from across the entire country have the opportunity to receive tutoring in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, IT, Electronics, English, and Biology.

After learning about the great opportunities the BHFF Community has to offer, we move back to music, specifically answering the intriguing question: Man VS. Machine or Man FEAT. Machine with our amazing fireside chat duo Miralem Salihovic and Zlatan Hajlovac KONTRA. Can technology substitute the human touch in music creation, pondering the parallels with other art forms like photography and the balance between raw talent and smart tech use? We sure got our answers.

Last but not least on day two we listened to Tomislav Cvitanusic and his captivating keynote titled “The Way to the Top” where he led us through a dynamic presentation filled with emotions and real situations, exploring the key concepts we need to find our way to the top.

Futures Leaders Summit: DAY THREE

We opened up the last day of the Summit by Solving the World’s Energy Trilemma: the Challenge of a Generation with Alen Corak. Exploring the topics of climate change, wildfires, floods, and droughts and learning the new ways to produce the energy on which societies depend today.

Continuing with our mantra ”Empowering Leaders of Tomorrow”, we welcomed to the stage our first and only panel of FLS day three, talking about How to Make a More Inclusive Future with Azra Saric, Gordana Buccisano, Berina Tanovic, Ivana Perkovic, and Alma Dautbegovic. Diving into topics such as gender equality, cultural impacts, and extracting lessons from successful initiatives.

What’s new at the BH Futures Foundation booth? Presenting Innovation Nation Programme, promoting innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This presentation highlighted how the program fuels a dynamic innovation ecosystem, supports startups, and fosters a culture of creativity and problem-solving.

Back on the main stage, we gave the floor to Almir Listo and his outstanding keynote speech on Building Communities by Making Games. He showcased how he built his gaming community of the PAYDAY trilogy and the ups and downs of game development.

Moving on to Urban Transformations, the next fireside chat by Nasiha Pozder, Dunja Krvavac, and Irhana Sehovic, explores the intersection of legislation, urban planning, and the evolving concept of smart cities.

Every device has a story to tell. This is the topic our Adela Mehic-Dzanic spoke about in her incredible keynote speech, inspired by the quote “Every time an IoT device is connected, a new story begins!” We were certainly inspired and expanded our perspectives on different ways to start our careers from scratch.

During the next hour, the participants of the Summit had the opportunity to meet with the USAID Diaspora Invest Project - an internship program in Bosnia and Herzegovina for young people from the diaspora and our 3MT(Three Minute Thesis) - a contest providing Bachelor, Masters, and Ph.D. students with the opportunity to showcase their work to the world.

After the thrilling booth activities by USAID and BHFF, we welcomed to the stage our last fireside chat of the event - Ivana Kuresevic and Zerina Mandzo-Colic talking about NFT, the possibility of using new technologies in the service of art and creative industries, all while providing access to the global market.

The last keynote speech was given by Senad Santic, who talked about Building Something out of Nothing. During his captivating speech, he went through some of his personal experiences and learnings and also talked about how communities played a huge part in creating and accelerating business ideas.

Concluding the Futures Leaders Summit, the Closing Ceremony took the stage with Asja Vrabac, the Event Manager of the Summit and Marketing Manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation, leading the way. Asja highlighted the remarkable accomplishments achieved by a dedicated group of BHFF volunteers and invited all those who tirelessly contributed to the success of the Futures Leaders Summit 2023 over the past 11 months to join her on stage.

We take immense pride and express deep gratitude to our volunteers and staff members who, with unwavering dedication, successfully delivered an event of such magnitude. Thank you for everything that you’ve done.

We would like to thank all speakers, workshop facilitators, partners, and friends of this event for making all of this possible. Special shoutout to: HTEC Group, Adriatic Metals, SLB, ZenDev, DCCS, Friendly Fire, bh telekom, dm - drogerie markt, design better studio, MONO, Authority Partners, Bingo, EVOLT, Ministarstvo privrede KS, USAID, Grad Sarajevo, Grad Bijeljina, Općina Travnik.