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Challenge IT

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As the STEM opportunities rise in the country, the main problem addressed by this project is unequal opportunities for the children without parental care as they have fewer chances to graduate or work in these fields. The public school system is at the moment incapable to provide adequate responses to the labour market needs in general, so the gap created by unequal chances for everyone has a long term effect not only on the personal lives of children without parental care but on the economic market of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.

Taking matters into her own hands, Nedima has first established the partnership with ‘Makerspace Tuzla’ and with ‘Home for children without parental care Bjelave’. Their support was crucial because they provided support in working with children and the gadgets for the workshops she envisioned to be the proper format to address the issue at hand. She has then coordinated the workshops content and engaged volunteers capable of implementing the workshops through unofficial partnership with an IT company which has suggested a few of their engineers to help with the educational part. Makerspace Tuzla has provided the robots and gadgets for the workshops and they provided the technical support to young participants during the realization of their ideas, providing education, mentoring and access to exclusive IT equipment. Final event of the project was a visit to the IT company Ministry of Programming for the children from ‘Dom Bjelave’.

My personal history of working with the vulnerable population across the country gave me an insight into the lack of the systematic support aimed at them, but also the insight into the great pool of talents and bright individuals who don’t get a chance to create a better life for themselves and their families. With this project, I was hoping that some of them will get new information and knowledge that can be used later in the crucial decision moments: what school to choose and what job to apply.