On Saturday, the 15th of June 2019, the Main Assembly Hall of the ASA Prevent Group was a gathering place for students/scholarship holders of the Hastor Foundation. These students, who come from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, once again traveled hundreds of miles to attend another meeting of young people who, together with the Hastor Foundation, are actively working on their development as well as the development of their local communities.

The monthly meeting was, as usual, held in two groups, due to a great number of attendees. Everyone who was present had the opportunity to listen to two presentations in the field of genetics and bio-engineering and to participate in a creative quiz of general knowledge.

During the first part of the meeting, Dina Osmanović, a scholarship-holder and a third-year student of the International Burch University in Sarajevo, very eloquently spoke to the student about genetically modified organisms in food, DNA molecules, GMO approved countries, genetic modification and the positive and negative effects of it all. The scholarship-holders listened with enthusiasm, and Dina was rewarded with great applause and a lot of questions related to the topic.

Then, Kenan Kraković, a student of the International Burch University, gave his presentation. He explained the CRISPR method in detail, explaining to the students the meaning of the concept itself and the ways it can be used in the treatment of various diseases. Then he spoke about diseases caused by genetic disorders and the significance of vaccination. Kenan received a lot of questions from the students and skillfully initiated the interaction regarding the topic.

In the final part of the meeting, students were divided into teams and through a creative and interactive quiz, they demonstrated their general knowledge. Each team had the task of creating an original name for their group. After that, they answered questions regarding general knowledge by using their application to write their answers. They had the opportunity to follow the results, which motivated them even more to compete and work together. It was uncertain who would get the biggest number of points and win until the very end. The winners were rewarded with a chocolate.

Educational, creative and entertaining – that is how another meeting of the Hastor Foundation’s scholarship-holders was conducted.

Razim Medinić