The interview of the month brings a conversation with the employees of the Hastor Foundation, those who live this story every day. Through their words, we discover what 2025 was like at the Foundation, filled with dedicated work, attention and responsibility. Every received request, every scholarship and every volunteer hour is handled with special attention. The Hastor Foundation team consists of former scholarship recipients, who best understand the values of the opportunity provided and proudly share every smile, every thank you and every victory that our scholarship program brings.
1. How would you, from your perspective, describe the year 2025 at the Hastor Foundation?
From my perspective, the year 2025 at the Hastor Foundation was extremely dynamic. As a long-time scholarship recipient, I had the opportunity through various roles, first as a volunteer, then as part of the administration, and today as an employee, to get to know the Foundation better. Working for the benefit of young people is something that truly makes me happy and gives me additional motivation and wind at my back. As every year, the Foundation accepted a large number of new scholarship recipients, and I had the opportunity to participate in almost all phases of the process, from organisation and communication to direct work with young people. These experiences enabled me to better understand the needs of scholarship recipients, but also to actively contribute to strengthening the network of young people across Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 remember the year 2025 as a year of growth, both personal and professional, but also as confirmation that through joint work we can build a strong, connected, and supportive community of young people.
2. What were the key projects of the Hastor Foundation in 2025 and tchich results would you especially highlight?
During 2025, the Hastor Foundation implemented a series of significant projects, and | would especially highlight collaborations with municipalities, not only in the area of Sarajevo but also across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Exceptionally high-quality cooperation with municipalities represents a strong example of joint action aimed at strengthening the prosperity of young people and creating better opportunities for their education and development.This year as well, after the successful completion of the pilot phase of the mentoring program First Step into the Business World, we continued this excellent project that introduces our diligent students into a professional environment and provides invaluable experience. One of the projects 1 am particularly proud of, and in whose planning and organisation 1 participated, is the new project “Together for Knowledge and Education*. Through this project, the Foundation goes a step further and provides free tutoring and educational worshops to all pupils, including those who are not scholarship recipients of the Hastor Foundation. In this way, we enable pupils outside our network to receive the same type of support, knowledge, and opportunities. We are especially proud of this project because, through it, we help strengthen communities and build young people with the idea that every child deserves equal education opportunities. We are aware of the fact that additional tutoring today is often financially inaccessible to a large number of parents, and precisely for that reason, we want to provide maximum support to pupils and their families. We look forward to continuing existing, as well as new collaborations and projects that await us in 2026, with the aim of continuing to strengthen the education system and support for young people across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3. Which competencies or values, in your opinion, do scholarship recipients develop the most through the Foundation’s activities?
In my opinion, scholarship recipients of the Hastor Foundation develop a whole range of important competencies and values through various activities. First of all, there is a significant strengthening of self-confidence, communication, and interpersonal skills. Through various forms of volunteering, scholarship recipients gain practical experience and later represents a great advantage on the labour market. Volunteering in daily communication, work with documentation, and solving various challenges. Every learned skill and every experience they gain has long-term value. I would also like to share personal experience, because 1 myself previously had a fear of public speaking and speaking in front of people, but already as a scholarship recipient, through various Foundation activities, I learned how to turn that fear into motivation.
4. Have you noticed an increase in interest in certain topics or skills among scholarship recipients?
Of course, recently we have clearly recorded an increase in scholarship recipients interest in certain topics and skills that follow contemporary societal needs. Particularly prominent is interest in topics related to internet safety, strengthening self-confidence, personal development, and motivation, as well as in areas related to the IT sector. When it comes to skills, we notice that pupils are increasingly developing digital competencies, such as computer work, graphic design, programming, and other IT skills. We are glad that our scholarship recipients come from different faculties and show exceptional ability to adapt and work on multiple tasks simultaneously. This increase in interest shows that scholarship recipients are aware of the importance of continuous learning and skill development that will help them be competitive on the labour market, but also responsible, self-confident, and informed young people ready to respond to the challenges of the future.
5. What are you most proud of as a team then you look back at 2025% As a team, we are most proud of the mutual support, collegiality, and shared sense of purpose that connect us. We all share the same goal – to make the Hastor Foundation as successful as possible and, through our work, help as ICIJA TOR many young people as we can. From its very founding, the founders of the Hastor Foundation had a clear vision for the Foundation: to encourage positive change in Bosnian and Herzegovinian society. We are proud that this year as well, with the support of the Board of Directors, we had the opportunity to stand behind that vision. I am especially proud of our team because we are also united by a shared experience as former Hastor Foundation scholarship holders, which allows us Lalle Domagit Director of to recognize the needs of others with additional empathy and understanding. Mastor Fomalation This special connection and mutual trust make our team strong and aligned around the same values. On this occasion, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my colleagues: Alija, Amela, Emra, Dženana, Neyla, Maida, and Semra. Through our effort and dedication, we work together to ensure that all our initiatives, activities, and projects have a clear ultimate goal — to change the lives of young people, provide support at critical moments, and empower them to one day become part of the chain of kindness and support, as well as drivers of positive change in our society. 6. What motivated you the most in your zork during this year? What motivated me the most during this year is the realisation that through our work, we directly contribute to the well-being of young people. I am truly delighted and driven by the fact that together we are building a better future for young people, but also for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole. There is nothing more valuable than the feeling that you have provided FONDACIJA HASTOR support to someone at the right moment, especially when you hear a voice of gratitude on the other end of the phone and realise that you have made someone’s path toward achieving their goals easier. Aba Congic Administratice Anstant 7. What does zorking at the Hastor Foundation mean to you? Working at the Hastor Foundation means every day, again and again, being a significant link in the realisation of the dreams of thousands of young people. We provide financial support, but what is equally important is the friendly support that we nurture from the very first day of the Foundation’s existence. My colleagues and I witness various life stories, both difficult and emotional, as well as beautiful and joyful ones. All of this represents personal growth for us, because we strive to be a light in the lives of those upon whom the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina rests.
