Anastasija Katić

My name is Anastasija Katić, I am a senior highschool student of Gymnasium Gradiška. I plan to continue my education in a field where I could work on human rights protection, which is what I dedicated my life to. Since I was 11 years old, I was trained and have been providing first aid, I am a member of the Red Cross and have volunteered in the association “Most”. Since I was 13 years old. I took part in project “Youth as a force of change in their communities” (,,Mladi kao snaga promjene u svojim zajednicama”) which is being realised as a part of the programme Bosnia and Herzegovina Resilience Initiative (BHRI).

I believe environmental protection is strongly intertwined with the concept of human rights protection, since a healthy environment means a healthier society. One of projects related to ecology that I worked on and were I am initiator of is “A month of helping nature” (“Mjesec pomaganja prirodi”) as a part of 3rd Upshift in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was sponsored by UNICEF and Kingdom of Sweden. I found that team work is exceptionally important to create an impact. Together with a team of other volunteers I won a 48h Eco Challenge within the project “Thoughts about nature” (“Misli o prirodi”) executed by Eko Hub Laktaši and in September we started working on a project that aims to educate masses on various topics related to ecology. It is of high significance for young activists to be united and coordinated in their contributions to their communities in order to create a strong force of change. First “Volonterijada”, an event supported by BHRI and executed by International organization for Migration (IOM) was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 9th of 12th of July this year and was a major event that allowed representatives of different volunteer organizations to present their missions and exchange ideas, and I can proudly say I took part in it.

Recently, I became a Youth Advisor for UK Ambassador’s Youth Advisers’ Group.  In November, in collaboration with Foundation Schüler Helfen Leben through Move On programme together with other volunteers we are starting a podcast for association Most.