Hastor Foundation scholarship holders prove every day why they can be called the initiators of change and implementers of projects important for the progress of Bosnian society. One of the scholarship holders who stands out with her engagement in many spheres is Ana Milijević, who in the past period, thanks to her work, creativity and talent, won third place in the competition for graphic design.
The competition was held in cooperation with the organization MyRight, which empowers people with disabilities, and the association DUGA. Our scholarship holder, a student of the second cycle of studies at the Department of Painting of the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and a student of the second cycle of studies of Creative Industries at the Faculty of Media and Communications in Belgrade, presented themselves at the mentioned competition.
The photo shows Ana’s diptych, which for her represents much more than winning an award:
“Something much more important than an award for me is to be part of the fight for the rights of children and young people with disabilities, as well as to be an individual who raises awareness of inclusive education through art. With this I want to say that it is important to change some things, by radically changing their setting into something that is completely different from what is known. Therefore, we need to expand the boundaries of our cognition so that the inclusion of diversity becomes a value that enriches our society.”
On her poster, which consists of two parts, there is a slogan Grow together, which is reversed and thus the focus is shifted to “community” which is actually a necessity for growth. This is what is shown in the first part of the poster. The second part of the poster shows the balloons that grew together:
“Our goal should not be a constant life aspiration to copy others in order to fit into the norm that society strives for. We need to be different from each other, to accept our own imperfections and differences so that we can accept others. The symbol of diversity in my work are balloons, different in their colors. Only in such a stimulating environment, everyone can learn and develop well. The question is how to overcome prejudices and change the above, and we find the answer in the notion of inclusion. The poster is intended to be placed in the form of a press in primary or secondary school.“
Ana believes that by presenting such content in educational institutions, students from the lowest grades learn not to be subject to prejudices imposed by society:
“The school should teach children attitudes and values that glorify love, tolerance, mutual acceptance and equality, regardless of differences. We need to be different from each other, to accept our own imperfections and differences so that we can accept others. Therefore, let’s overcome stereotypes and grow together!“
Through her work, Ana reaffirmed the vision of MyRight, which consists in striving to create a world in which people with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities to live a life worthy of a human being through inclusion in society.
We witness the versatility and success of our scholarship holder every day, given that Ana is a member of the graphic design team of the Hastor Foundation. In September 2020, she graduated from the Department of Painting, winning the Golden Badge of the University of Sarajevo for outstanding success throughout her education.
In addition to painting, she is involved in various arts, such as photography and film, and has achieved various awards and recognitions in these fields, such as the first prize at the Children’s and Youth Film Festival and the Sarajevo Film Festival within the Teen Arena. She is a member of the significant world project “Draw not War” led by Matteo Valentti. She is improving her painting skills in the colonies, such as the Colony in Trebinje in 2019, and spends the rest of her free time learning foreign languages, so she currently speaks Italian and English, and is improving her French. She exhibits at group exhibitions at the Cultural Center in Trebinje, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo, at the City Hall in Sarajevo, at the Museum of Literature and Theater Arts, at the National Theater in Sarajevo and at the April 6th exhibition at the History Museum in Sarajevo.
However, she feels special gratitude to the Hastor Foundation and its collective:
“Within the description of my work, I spoke about tolerance, love, mutual equality and the need to nurture these concepts. I believe that everything we create, everything that is the fruit of our creativity, has its roots in the everyday life we live. I can say that this award of mine would not have existed if I had not entered the world of graphic design a year ago, due to accidental circumstances within the Hastor Foundation. Dear reader, don’t worry, the previous sentences are not an introduction to the theory of empiricism, in these lines we will not deal with the terms we hear about in college. These lines, however, are reserved for a much more important term – love. She was and remains the main guide of life, which only with her wings can soar into the infinity of goodness, education as well as true values and qualities. For my work, which represents a micro-mission to spread equality and goodness in this world, everything I carry from the ranks of each of our monthly newsletter is very important, which, at the time of the pandemic, when our meetings were canceled, became rare places of our meetings. I think that the strength of the Hastor Foundation is in that. No matter how far apart we are, we are close to each other in these lines where our life experiences are. From month to month we prove that even though the whole world is changing, our love and connection remains the same. We encourage each other by letting known that we are not alone and by that we grow together.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hastor Foundation, as well as all the scholarship holders.”
We would like to congratulate Ana on her successes so far, with sincere wishes that she will continue to follow the path of success in the future and that she will be a motivation to our scholarship holders, but also to other young people!
