1st edition of the Regional Annual Competition of the Balkan Green Ideas (BGI) competition has been organized in Kolasin, Montenegro. This year the competition gathered representatives from 5 countries of the Western Balkans and provided an opportunity for competitors to present their green and innovative ideas. For two days, 15 innovative, original, and unique green ideas were presented in front of the jury members who had the challenging task of choosing the three winners who were each awarded $10,000.
Anica-Maja Boljevic, Fund for Active Citizenship, Montenegro
Maja Boljevic is the executive director of the Fund for Active Citizenship (fAKT), a Montenegrin nongovernmental and nonprofit grantmaking foundation. Prior to her current position, she served as the head of the Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) program in Montenegro from November 2002 to October 2005, where she also managed the youth advocacy and leadership program in 2001–2002. Before joining CRS, from 1993 to 2001 she worked as a high school English language and literature teacher.
Ms. Boljevic’s professional background and experience are strongly linked to education and civil society programs, with an emphasis on supporting and fostering civic participation to encourage proactive problem solving and responsive governance. She has participated in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs that foster strategic development in several areas: community involvement in public education, advocacy and civic participation, youth and women empowerment, peace and conflict transformation, and local and international networks. She has experience with mechanisms for participatory planning of community driven development programs and with policy issues, policy implementation, and participatory monitoring and evaluation of policy. As a consultant for the Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science, Ms. Boljevic revised the National Youth Action Plan. She also served as a member of the National Council for Youth for two years.
Juliana Hoxha, Director, Partners Albania, Center for Change and Conflict Management
Juliana Hoxha started Partners Albania in 2001. She has 16 years of experience in development issues, advocacy campaigns, trainings, and consulting, including 11 years managing three USAID cooperative agreements, trainings, and grant programs. Her experience includes a long and successful working relationship with official donor assistance (ODA) donors and international and local organizations in Albania. Ms. Hoxha has a rich experience in project design, development, and management; training curricula development and delivery; proposal writing; and cross-sector relations. She also has experience in program design, administration, and assessment as well as extensive experience in grants program design and management, especially in umbrella grants for local organizations. In addition to her experience, Ms. Hoxha has strong professional relationships with the non-for-profit sector, local government, donor community, and relevant government institutions.
Mexhide Spahija, Executive Director, Forum for Civic Initiatives
Mexide Spahija holds an MSc in political science from Lund University in Sweden. She has worked at the Swedish Parliament for the Liberal Party and has interned at the Swedish embassy in Pristina. Ms. Spahija is currently the executive director of Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ).
Zoran Stojkovski, Executive Director, Center for Institutional Development-CIRa
Zoran Stojkovski is the executive director of the Center for Institutional Development-CIRa. He has extensive experience facilitating, managing, consulting, and providing training services in the fields of institutional development, organizational sustainability, philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) development areas for many organizations, institutions, and companies in Macedonia and southeast Europe.
Mr. Stojkovski believes that a vibrant and sustainable civil society in countries in transition can be achieved only if civil society is seriously involved in key societal processes, especially in the mobilization of local resources to address local problems and meet local needs. In the past, he has worked as a project manager for the USAID Democracy Network Program (1998–2004) and as a local expert of training and mentoring within the EAR-funded program for Capacity Building of Networks and Coalitions (2005–2007). As a consultant, he has provided services for various programs funded by EC, USAID, UNDP, SDC, SIDA, DFID, HIVOS, NOVIB, and the World Bank. Mr. Stojkovski holds a Master’s certificate in donor development practices from London Metropolitan University
Mia Vukojevic, Executive Director, Balkan Community Initiative Fund
Mia Vukojevic holds a BA Honors in European integration from the Faculty of Public Affairs and Policy Management at Carleton University in Ottawa and is currently completing her MA in Eastern European studies. She has 12 years of management and fundraising experience in development organizations. Through her professional career Ms. Vukojevic has worked for the European Union, the United Nations, Oxfam, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Additionally, she has served on the board of directors for the Sphere Project in Geneva and on the board of trustees of the Balkan Community Initiative Fund (BCIF). In addition to fundraising and management, her areas of expertise are strategic planning, gender and women’s rights, and refugee and minority rights. Ms. Vukojevic has been BCIF’s executive director since October 2011.
Bosiljka Vukovic, Head of the Division for the Support to the National Council for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism
Bosiljka Vukovic has been working in the area of sustainable development in her native country Montenegro since 2007. She serves as secretary of the National Council for Sustainable Development, a multi-stakeholder advisory body of the government of Montenegro on sustainable development issues, chaired by the prime minister. As a national focal point for the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) and the national preparations for the Third World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), Ms. Vukovic has been actively involved in UN and EU sustainable development processes since 2008. In May 2011, she was elected vice chair of the Bureau for the 20th session of the CSD on behalf of the UN Eastern European Group.
Prior to returning to Montenegro, she worked on grassroots development programs, most notably in Serbia on monitoring and evaluation of infrastructural, community building and agricultural development projects. She holds an MA from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in international economics and European studies.
Haki Abazi, Program Director, Western Balkans
Haki Abazi is the program director for the Western Balkans portion of the RBF’s Pivotal Place program. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 2007, Mr. Abazi served as director of the Kosovo office for the East West Management Institute, Inc. Mr. Abazi developed and implemented a wide range of programs addressing critical issues in Kosovo during the transition period. He also has played an important role in the development of the civil society in the region. Mr. Abazi has over nine years of experience in designing and managing development programs in Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. These programs were designed to support overall developments and increase the level of participation of citizens in the decision-making processes. Mr. Abazi has in-depth knowledge and work experience related to the Balkan’s civil society community and the geopolitics of the region. He is chairing the steering committee for Grantmakers East Forum and sits on the boards of several international organizations. Mr. Abazi holds a degree in computer sciences and management, and was educated in Kosovo and the United States. He is fluent in English, Albanian, and Serbian, and also knows basic Dari.
Dragana Ilic, Program Assistant, Western Balkans
Dragana Ilic joined the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in December 2009 as program assistant for the Western Balkans Program. Prior to joining the RBF, she was engaged in many projects as a research analyst, particularly in the field of evaluating the progress of the reform projects introducing democratic values and building up the capacities of local government. She has in-depth experience in introducing the concept of human resource management to Serbia’s public sector as well as in strengthening democratic practices in the local government of Kosovo. She worked as an assistant to the mayor of Štrpce/Shtërpcë in Kosovo from 2002 to 2004 and as a human resources development specialist in the Ministry of Ecology in Serbia from 2005 to 2007.
Ms. Ilic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, where she attended high school and the University of Philosophy. She earned her MA in psychology and is currently pursuing PhD studies in psychology of the person. She obtained trainer-level skills in mediation as a conflict resolution process and counseling skills in the field of constructivist psychotherapy.
Rachel LaForgia, Program Assistant, Peacebuilding and Western Balkans
Rachel LaForgia is the program assistant for the Peacebuilding and Western Balkans programs. Prior to joining the RBF, she managed the Community Service Center at Ramapo College and served as a research assistant at the PeaceWomen Project and the International Center for Transitional Justice. Previously, Ms. LaForgia was a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Spain and taught high school Spanish in Florida. She holds a BA in history and Spanish from Franklin and Marshall College and an MS in global affairs from New York University, where her research focused on gender-based violence, peacebuilding, international law, and transitional justice. Ms. LaForgia currently serves as the resources editor for the Journal for Peacebuilding and Development.
Katarina Yee, Communications Associate
Katarina Yee is communications associate at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. She is responsible for administering the Fund's website, coordinating the publication of internal and external materials, and providing support to the director of communications. Prior to joining the Fund, Ms. Yee was a part of the communications and development team at the I Have a Dream Foundation’s national office. At the Foundation, she worked to strengthen communications with the organization’s network of affiliates, helped to enhance outreach efforts, and assisted in the execution of fundraising events. Ms. Yee has also worked as a freelance reporter and photojournalist in Boston and interned for talk show host Tavis Smiley’s holding company, The Smiley Group, Inc. in Los Angeles. She earned a BS in print and multimedia journalism from Emerson College.
Helena Qirici, Intern, Western Balkans Program
Helena Qirici is an intern for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Western Balkans program. She graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a specialization in international and European studies. She previously worked as an intern at the UNHCR office in Tirana. Ms. Qirici has experience in both the civil society and business sectors. She is from Albania and is fluent in Albanian, Greek, and English.
