ENVERA
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
21 YEARS
"Our cultural diversity to me is both:
An inseparable part of my heritage - and of my future."
Memory is a tricky thing. Some of us can barely recollect our first day of school, yet then we can pinpoint one random incident from our childhood that shaped the trajectory of our life forever. For Envera it was this:
At the tender age of seven, she discovered the joy of drawing. It was a spark that ignited something within her. Soon after, an attentive teacher was quick to notice her talent. She encouraged her to keep going and entered her in a drawing contest. Envera ended up winning. This experience shaped her profoundly. It was not about the victory; it was about the realization she had. She not only discovered which field she was really interested in. That very moment taught her, talent alone is not everything. You need discipline, routine and the willingness to put in the work too. When you have both, you can succeed in anything you set your mind to.
Envera’s pronounced work ethic and insatiable curiosity brought her to the city of Sarajevo, where she is currently pursuing a double degree in English language and literature, as well as in art history at the Faculty of Philosophy. Her impending diploma is of immense significance to her. It will not only prove her own ambition paid off, but in a generational sense, that the hard work of her parents and grandparents was worthwhile too. Envera’s parents were deprived of their education due to the conflict in the 90s, so she will be the first one in her family to graduate from a university.
Although the diploma is one of her biggest achievements to date, it is not the most important one. The other is that she is able to work in her field of studies, which is not the norm, as art and culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina frequently lacks adequate funding, despite the extensive history and its rich multicultural heritage, she states. It is exactly that heritage, a complex fabric of diverse cultures, origins, and religions, all of which inescapably shaped Envera’s perception of the world as it is today.
In considering the future, particularly in the context of the Berlin Process, Envera maintains a positive outlook. The aspiration to become a member of the European Union has been a long-held desire of Bosnia and Herzegovina for so many decades, that its reputation, its influence, and its admiration remains unbroken - although Brexit was a turning point in how the EU is perceived. Considering the European Unions’ current fragility, there persists a common yet cynical joke, that by the time Bosnia and Herzegovina join the EU, the European Union will be broken in half. It's something Envera can´t agree with. She profoundly believes the youth are the ones who can boost the necessary changes. This is why she sees her own professional future in engaging with young people in a cultural context, because she knows what difference it can make.
During her studies Envera learned that art is a mighty tool for dialogue itself, but the visiting public must be built from the ground up too. Children must be engaged in respectful dialogue, tolerance, and awareness of diversity while they are young, so they can continue to carry those values into adulthood.
To Envera it is something that, in the bigger picture, applies to society as a whole. If you have only one person that truly sees who you are and who believes in you, it can change the course of your life. Now she aspires to become that person for someone else, someday.
