Letter from the Founder & Chair of BoD

Over the past two years, our organization has experienced transformative growth under our dedicated leadership team. For the first time, we welcomed several new staff members alongside our invaluable volunteers. We developed our first comprehensive strategy and defined a business model, laying the foundation for future growth. Essential procedures were established, financial processes refined, and agile methodologies implemented to enhance efficiency. Transitioning from a fully remote work model to a hybrid one has further improved collaboration and productivity. At the core of our work, we celebrated two cohorts of Senior Scholars completing the Acceleration Programs and attaining Alumni status, ready to mentor future leaders.

Our Research Program excelled, with participants in the 3MT competition and the Virtual School of Research Communication, and four outstanding students receiving the Vera Šnajder Award. The Innovation Nation program was refined to better support aspiring entrepreneurs. We also made significant community impacts through the Futures Leaders Summit, raSTEM conference, Tutoring program, and professional meet-ups across Europe.

As Majda Mujanovic Babovic passes her role to new leadership, we reflect on a period marked by strategic growth, strengthened infrastructure, and enhanced programmatic impact.

This report highlights our collective efforts and accomplishments, setting a strong foundation for future success. We look forward to building on this momentum and advancing our mission with renewed vigor and dedication.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Selma Begovic as the new Executive Director of the BH Futures Foundation.

Selma brings a wealth of experience and a dynamic vision to our organization, having dedicated over a decade to project management across diverse industries including IT, fintech, and economic development, both in the USA and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Selma is a graduate of the United World College in Mostar and holds a degree in accounting and business management from Westminster College in Missouri, USA. Her professional journey has been marked by her role at Marvelsoft, where she served as Business Development Manager for nearly four years. Most recently, she excelled as a Project Manager at MarketMakers Project BiH, a leading economic development initiative. At MarketMakers, Selma managed a portfolio of over 40 investment contracts and 20 projects, valued at over 1 million EUR. Her collaboration with more than 80 partners and experts significantly improved market functions and contributed to the creation of 4600 new jobs. Additionally, she played a crucial role in developing five policies and legislative reforms, as well as initiating and supporting a company academy model aimed at skilling, reskilling, and upskilling the labor force to meet job-market demands. Selma’s PMP certification and extensive knowledge of project management tools and techniques will undoubtedly be invaluable as she leads BH Futures Foundation into its next chapter. Selma is a nature enthusiast who loves to spend her free time hiking through the great outdoors, soaking in the beauty of every trail. When she's not exploring nature, she's passionately practicing yoga. Whether it's the fluid movements of traditional Vinyasa or the thrilling heights of Aerial Yoga, she seeks the balance of yin and yang.

We are confident that her leadership will drive our mission forward, fostering innovation and creating opportunities for young minds to thrive.

Please join us in welcoming Selma Begovic to the BH Futures Foundation family.

0.2 BHFF 2023 Impact at-a-glance

03. Futures Scholarship

The aim of our Futures Scholarship Program is to help young people to (further) improve their professional and personal skills required in the labor market, and enable them to achieve their full potential as change makers in our society.

The Futures Scholarship Department entails three programs tailored to the needs of our students: Ignite program for high school students, and the Incubation and Acceleration program for university students. Besides mentors and different educational opportunities that are provided, the main tool for development of students’ various transferable skills is the volunteering work itself, and their dedication contributes to the Foundation’s development as well. All activities are planned, implemented and monitored by volunteering teams, coordinated by our own scholars:

Mentoring Team
Human Potential Team
Education Team
Futures Mobile Makerspace Team

Some of the main achievements of the Scholarship Department in 2023 are the following:

23 Junior Scholars of the 2022/23 cycle have successfully completed the Incubation Program and were entitled to enter Acceleration Program as Senior Scholars

59 Senior Scholars who successfully completed at least one year of Acceleration program have been awarded with the Alumni status in 2023
Junior Scholars successfully implemented eight Passion Projects (student’s initiatives that aim to improve local communities through education, leadership and technology)

Five Scholars were supported with our Critical Funding Initiative - 4840 BAM in total

We implemented two Joint Scholarships with our community partners HTEC Group Sarajevo and Lanaco. Together, they have financially and educationally supported 8 students in total.
We had 114 Mentors in our 2023 Mentoring Team who were actively involved and supported our Scholars
In 2023, an Education Team organized 24 workshops for both high school and university students, and 8 webinars
We organized three courses for our scholars in 2023: Design Thinking Course, Oracle Associate and Advanced Python Course
Scholars were offered with seven international and one national conference/events, that took place in five different countries, and 31 of our scholars attended minimum one international event

Mobile Makerspace Team organized 5 live and 4 online workshops related to IT field and 3D Printing, and included 230 attendees at all workshops combined.
We have started the 2023/24 scholarship cycle with:
49 Junior Scholars (24 males and 25 females)
23 Senior Scholars (6 males and 17 females)
42 Ignite members in total (16 males and 26 females)
137 Alumni members in total (66 males and 71 females)

03. Research Program

The aim of the Research Program is to promote the importance of scientific research, and enable different researchers to network and collaborate together. There are three main activities within the Foundation’s Research Program:

Virtual School of Research Communication
Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT Competition)
Vera Šnajder Award

The Virtual School of Research Communication was established in 2022.

In 2023 we promoted it as a free online on-demand course. The goal of VSRC is for students to learn how to effectively communicate their research work and promote science to the public. It is also a great tool to prepare students for the 3MT Competition, and in 2023 we had 28 students enrolled in this course. The goal of Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) is to provide opportunities for students (Ph.D., Masters & Undergraduate) to communicate the significance of their research projects to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes.

Not only do students benefit from this experience, but their respective universities/faculties have the opportunity to showcase their research and researchers through the Bosnia and Herzegovina network, as well as open doors to new collaborations and networks for both researchers and supervisors.

In 2023, 25 participants were awarded by the BH Futures Foundation and Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS).

We distributed over 18,000 BAM in prizes to help accelerate winners’ research careers. The competition was also supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Science.

The Vera Šnajder Award enables an early career researcher from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is passionate about the relationship between a personal quest for knowledge and its collective societal advancement to bring home new knowledge and perspectives and incorporate them into the advancement of our nation and society. The Vera Šnajder award is presented annually in the form of a travel grant (up to 3000 BAM per person) to an outstanding natural/technical sciences student in Bosnia & Herzegovina (undergraduate, masters or PhD). In 2023, we awarded two students: Dina Karamuratović (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sarajevo) who will present her work in Barcelona, Spain, and Majra Šišić Čaluk (Physics Department at the Faculty of Science at the University of Sarajevo) who will use the award for her Ph.D. in Zagreb.

03. Entrepreneurship Program

BH Futures Foundation has been implementing the Innovation Nation Program since 2016 to help and support young potential innovators and entrepreneurs, by also positioning the Foundation as an Entrepreneurship ecosystem developer.

Innovation Nation is a 12-week program designed to provide the opportunity to develop transferable professional skills such as leadership, effective teamwork, digital literacy, an entrepreneurial mentality, and other similar abilities, in parallel to designing an innovative new product based on the Stanford Design Thinking Model.

In 2023 our Entrepreneurship Team underwent strategic restructuring due to transition of team lead, and we have onboarded new team members as well as program coordinator - our Alumni Member and Innovation Nation Fellow, Emela Ferizbegović. We are confident that their expertise and fresh perspectives will enable program’s participants to make the most of their initiatives. We're devoted to giving people the education resources they need to learn and grow as entrepreneurs, so they can make better opportunities for themselves and the business climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

04. Our Community
Futures Leaders Summit 2023

In December 2023, we organized the Futures Leaders Summit at Dom Mladih, Sarajevo, a pivotal gathering that brought together over 500 participants from diverse fields, extending beyond STEM. This influential event featured notable local and international keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and insightful company visits, fostering a robust network aimed at nurturing the next generation of changemakers. With a strong emphasis on inclusivity, equality, justice, responsibility, and leadership, the summit surpassed expectations, receiving 218 student grant applications and achieving a 72.60% revenue growth from ticket sales in comparison to the previous year. Positioned as a premier platform for ongoing collaboration among emerging leaders, the local economy, and the global community, the summit embodies our vision and mission.

The Futures Leaders Summit stands as a cornerstone event of the Foundation, aligning with our long-term goal to grow a community of 10,000 changemakers by 2030 dedicated to enhancing the future for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rooted in our commitment to fostering talent from within the region, the summit highlights our dedication to supporting educational initiatives, providing access to technology, and cultivating leadership skills among BiH youth. This commitment is strengthened by the ongoing support of mentors, donors, ambassadors, and a dedicated team of scholars, alumni, volunteers, and staff who drive our initiatives forward. The success of the Futures Leaders Summit '23 was not only evident in its educational and networking achievements but also in new and creative approaches. The summit's innovative approach included curated Learning Journeys, workshops, company visits, and a diverse program that attracted positive feedback, reflected in a remarkable 98.8% overall satisfaction rate from participants. Moving forward, we plan to enhance team cohesion and improve logistical aspects, building on the momentum of the summit to further elevate our impact and outreach.

04. Our Community
raSTEM

In 2023, we organized the raSTEM conference in Bijeljina, a dynamic gathering that brought together educators, students, and industry leaders to celebrate STEM education and innovation. The conference featured engaging keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and collaborative sessions aimed at nurturing a culture of scientific inquiry and technological advancement. Participants had the opportunity to explore groundbreaking research, exchange ideas, and forge new collaborations, reinforcing our commitment to empowering Bosnia and Herzegovina's youth through STEM education.

Tutoring program

Aims to help high school students to improve their knowledge related to the STEM and IT subjects. In 2023, we included 177 high school students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina in our Tutoring program. Lessons were moderated by 60 of our Scholars.

Mobile Makerspace Team aims to improve IT and technical skills of young people by implementing both live (3D printing and Arduino workshops) and online workshops (Python and Web Development). Online workshops helped us to reach 230 elementary and high school students from 22 towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina (28 participants at Arduino workshop, 76 participants at 3D Printing workshop) 30 participants at Python Basics Online Course, 15 participants at Web Development Online Course, and 81 participants at IT Career Path Workshop).

Students & Professionals:

Professional Meet-ups

In 2023, we co-hosted six professional meetups—three in Bosnia and Herzegovina and three abroad—building community and fostering collaboration. Our commitment to fostering a strong BH community continues as we look forward to hosting more meetups in different countries, creating opportunities for even more people to connect and learn from one another.

04. Our Community
Alumni Program

In 2023, we strategically planned for more concrete and continuous alumni engagement within the Foundation. We completed an Alumni Engagement Strategy Plan and began the initial process of gathering our powerful alumni cohorts, preparing the groundwork for 2024.

Donor Relations

In 2023, we welcomed 200 new donors, bringing our total to over 1,100 individual supporters of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Futures Foundation. We are proud to share that 40% of our new donors were from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the remaining 60% hailing from various countries around the world, from 19 different countries across our planet. In appreciation for our wonderful supporters and friends, in April we sent out hundreds of postcards all over the world, showcasing the work of our scholars who designed 3D postcards as their little Passion project and gift to the Foundation.

05. Finances

2023 IN A NUTSHELL

In comparison to the previous year, our plan for both activities and finances remained consistent. We shifted our Entrepreneurship Program, Innovation Nation, from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, while simultaneously expanding our impact. This expansion included organizing a larger Futures Leaders Summit and the high-school conference raSTEM Bijeljina, reaching hundreds of young people across the country.

Significant investments were directed towards our Flagship Programs, particularly in scholarships, providing more educational and mobility opportunities for our active scholars, volunteers, and alumni throughout the year. The growth of our endowment fund continued, ensuring that your donations have a lasting effect. Our commitment to community involvement remained robust, with in-kind hours remaining consistent with the previous year.

We are especially thankful to all of our donors who strongly support our vision and mission, by allocating a certain percentage of their private budget as an investment into education and youth leadership development. It has helped us further develop our programs with the aim of creating a network of 10,000 youth leaders (changemakers) by 2030.

Besides the financial contributions our stakeholders have made, our organisation is deeply supported by an enormous network of professionals who are investing their time, volunteering from several hours a month to several hundred hours annually. This is equally important to our organisation and the impact it has had on young people is incredible.

Bosnia & Herzegovina Futures Foundation maintains maximum transparency in our operations, finances and processes as a means of making our stakeholders feel part of the organisation. As such, we welcome questions and feedback from our stakeholders as a means of improving our operations, communications and programs.

2024 AND ONWARDS

We will continue with the same approach of ensuring budget accountability for departments and teams, including both staff and volunteers, in order to utilize the Foundation's resources in the most efficient way. From an overall financial perspective, our main goal is to diversify income streams through strategic partnerships with companies, project-funded work, and the official registration and scaling of our Endowment Fund.

07. Looking ahead

Word of the Founder

Another year and major growth in our programs. Reflecting back on 2023, I find it difficult to comprehend the quantity and quality of amazing work we undertook and how many lives we transformed thanks to the collective effort of our incredible volunteers, donors, mentors, speakers, our BH Futures Foundation Family. I always like to say thank you no matter how many times I have said that before. Thank you for placing your trust in our foundation. We draw strength from our community which has surpassed 15,000 supporters in over 40 countries. We should all be proud of this joint effort. At the end of 2023 we say thank you and goodbye to numerous long term serving board members who were also our amazing scholars & volunteers [Milan Kusmuk, Momcilo Amovic, Haris Arnautovic]. We also say goodbye to our executive director Majda Mujanovic Babovic. She will become a mother for a second time and we wish her all the best with family life and we thank her and all of our amazing board members who made the past few years productive and fun. Thank you for placing your trust in us, thank you for believing in us and most of all thank you for joining us in our noble cause of transforming Bosnia & Herzegovina into a prosperous nation. What once was an idea of two brothers residing in Australia, is today a global movement of thousands of Bosnia & Herzegovina professionals who strive to provide youth in our homeland worldclass opportunities to become the best version of themselves. To become the leaders of tomorrow!

On our journey we have stayed true to our core values and principles of operation, leading by example and influencing positive change in society. We push boundaries, embrace our multicultural identity and strive for excellence.

Our integrity is at the core of everything we do as we serve the community and partner with those who share our values. Besides continuing to run the incredible programs, scaling our operations to be even more geographically inclusive, we are on a mission to secure the long-term success of our organization.

We are on a mission in creating the first-ever endowment fund (Vakuf) dedicated to the education and empowerment of youth in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The endowment fund will create a perpetual source of funding for all of our programs and scholarships, providing transformative opportunities beyond our own lifetime. As founders, my brother Rešad and I will pledge a significant portion of our accumulated wealth to the foundation’s endowment fund and hope that we can inspire you to join us in our mission. Our unity is our strength.

07. Looking ahead

In 2024, the Flagship Program will focus on quality assurance and development of its main activities. The Scholarship Program 2024 for our 70 Scholars will be focused on enhancement of their soft skills using volunteering activities as a tool for self-development.

With the “learning by doing” approach and with the support of our Mentors in monitoring their goal progress, we hope that we will equip young people with competitive labor skills.

The next scholarship call will be announced in July 2024, and we look forward to onboard the new generation of our change makers.

The Research Program Team in 2024 will aim to improve the content of our Research Hub, with the special focus on Virtual School of Research Communication.

Additionally, we will organize various research meetups with the aim to support the cohesion of the research community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to initiate cooperation among local stakeholders in terms of research activities in 2025.

The 3 Minute Thesis Competition and Vera Šnajder Award will be further used to disseminate important scientific findings and showcase the research potential of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Entrepreneurship Team will implement the seventh iteration of our Innovation Nation program with up to 30 participants who will be further empowered with entrepreneurial skills and matched with investors interested to support startups as a tool for economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The official program start is scheduled for March 2024, and we will continue to give people the resources they need to learn and grow as entrepreneurs, so they can make better opportunities for themselves and the business climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Community Building
Operational Excellence
Financial Health

07. Looking ahead

Building on Our Momentum

As we reflect on the achievements of 2023, we are filled with excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead in 2024. Our journey is just beginning, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to create a positive impact on our society.

Empowering Future Leaders

Enhanced Competency Framework: In 2024, we will further refine our Competency Framework to align with the evolving demands of the labor market. This will enhance our Scholarship Program curriculum, providing Futures Scholars with exclusive career development opportunities, including industry collaborations, advanced internships, and cutting-edge educational content.

Strengthened Research Initiatives

Building on the success of our Research Hub, we will focus on enhancing the quality of our research initiatives. Hosting the 3 Minute Thesis Competition 2024 and the Vera Šnajder Award will remain central to our efforts in fostering a robust scientific community and showcasing research excellence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We aim to build a strong network of researchers to drive innovation and collaboration.

Quality-Focused Innovation Nation

Our Innovation Nation program will continue to empower young professionals with entrepreneurial skills. We will emphasize quality training and mentorship, connecting budding entrepreneurs with investors and industry experts to support startup growth and economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Strengthening Our Community

Community Building Initiatives: In 2024, we will enhance our Community Building system by integrating new teams and strengthening existing ones. Our goal is to cultivate an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere through an increased number of events, networking opportunities, and community engagement activities. We will also hold 5 or more BH Professional Meetups in our international communities, providing our supporters with the opportunity to connect with each other and with our students.

07. Looking ahead

Alumni Engagement

We will launch new initiatives to engage our alumni network, fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging their active participation in our community events and programs.

Additionally, we plan to establish an Alumni Club or Alumni Board as a dedicated independent branch of the Foundation. This entity will oversee alumni initiatives and foster meaningful engagement between our alumni and current students.

Enhancing Operational Excellence

Leadership Development

Continuing from 2023, we will expand our Leadership Program to include advanced training sessions for our volunteers, leaders, and staff. This will ensure we maintain a high level of expertise and leadership within our organization.

Sustaining Financial Growth

Diversified Revenue Streams: We are grateful for the support of our donors, volunteers, and partners. In 2024, we will focus on deepening these relationships and exploring new funding opportunities. This will help us achieve our long-term goals and ensure financial sustainability for our future projects.

Collaborative Partnerships

We will seek to establish strategic partnerships with like-minded organizations and institutions to amplify our impact and achieve shared objectives. We are excited about the opportunities that 2024 holds and look forward to working together to create a brighter future for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Annual Report 2023