The Institute for Youth Development KULT took part in UnConference 2025, an event organised by the UniCredit Foundation and held in Milan. It brought together organisations from 12 European countries working to improve education opportunities for children and young people. The Institute was represented by Executive Director Ajka Rovčanin, alongside organisations committed to reducing educational poverty and creating fairer chances for youth in their own communities.
Unlike typical conferences that focus on success stories, UnConference opened space for a rarely discussed but crucial theme: vulnerability. Through conversations about institutional limitations, initiatives that didn’t achieve the intended impact, the challenges of working in isolated communities, and the emotional load carried by frontline staff, participants arrived at a simple but powerful truth: real change begins when we speak honestly about what isn’t working.
This perspective aligns deeply with the Institute’s values. “Vulnerability doesn’t make us weak – it gives us opportunities to learn from each other,” said Ajka Rovčanin. “When we talk openly about our work, both the successes and the setbacks, we build trust. And trust is the foundation of every relationship: with young people, with schools, with communities, with donors. At the Institute, we believe everyone involved in the process shares responsibility for the results we aim to achieve.”
During the discussions, participants unpacked difficult but necessary questions: What happens when schools fail their students? Why do carefully designed projects sometimes still fail to reach the young people they aim to support? How do we engage with communities that don’t recognise us or don’t trust us? And how do we protect the people who work with vulnerable groups? Even though the conversations centred on challenges, the conclusion was optimistic — every form of vulnerability carries the potential for solidarity. When organisations openly share their struggles, opportunities are created for genuine alliances, new ideas, and long-term partnerships.
The UnConference experience builds on the work the Institute has been doing in Bosnia and Herzegovina for years, particularly through programmes like EduConnect BiH – Applied Learning for Inclusive Communities. This programme focuses on strengthening teaching competencies, building trust in communities, and creating inclusive, open learning environments. At every level, from classroom to local community, the Institute works from a simple premise: change isn’t something organisations impose from the outside, but a process built together with schools, teachers, young people, and local partners.
A symbolic moment at the end – a collective choir performance by all participants – reinforced the event’s core message: in a choir, it doesn’t matter if you sing your line perfectly. What matters is listening to others, following the group’s rhythm, and believing that together we can create something none of us could achieve alone.
UnConference 2025 demonstrated that in this imperfect yet genuinely shared harmony lies the deeper meaning of our work: building change rooted in community, trust, and the courage to be open with one another.
The EduConnect BiH programme is financially supported by the UniCredit Foundation’s UCF Edu-Fund Platform, which focuses on tackling educational poverty among young people in countries where UniCredit operates. The platform supports programmes that prevent early school leaving, strengthen teacher capacities, encourage continued education, and improve youth employability through skills development.
