Viktor Bjelić, was born in 1977 in Banja Luka, where he studied and became an Bsc. of Geography and Tourism.
He is one of the founders of the Center for Environment (Young Researchers of Banja Luka) who for many years worked on various projects, programs and activities, both professionally and through volunteer engagement.
He is the initiator of the founding and he is coordinator of the Aarhus Center in Banja Luka and the network of Aarhus Centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the Center for Environment, Victor works as a project coordinator and performs the function of vice-president of the organization. He is one of the initiators of the Coalition for the Protection of the Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The rivers are not only resource but a source of life for all living creatures and it is very important to preserve them in good condition for future generations.”
Nataša was born in Banja Luka in 1987. She graduated from the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and currently she’s enrolled at the same faculty for a Master's Degree in Animal Ecology. Since 2002, she has been at the Center for Environment first as an activist, then as the activist group coordinator, then as coordinator of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas program which led to the position of the president of the organization, where she is today. Natasa follows all the areas that the Center is dealing with, and so far she has been mostly devoted in the struggle to protect rivers and to stop the hydro power plants. She is continuously working to strengthen the Center internally, but also to connect with other partners across Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region and the entire world. By researching black storks of Posavina to the research of mangrove forest in the south of India she dedicates her free time to nature, wanting to understand it better, believing in the inextricable connection between humans and nature.
Aleksandra-Anja Dragomirović, was born in Banjaluka in 1982. She graduated in forestry engineering at Faculty of Forestry, University in Banjaluka. Through her work, activities and education she wants to question and try to improve the relationship between man (and society in general) toward nature. Themes for which she showed the major interest are multifunctional forestry, urban forestry etc. and wants to highlight social and ecological forest function. Work experience she gained working in real and CSO sector. Her favorite quote is: „Mother Earth is a Source of Life – Not a Resource“ (Native American Chief Avrol Looking Horse).
Tihomir Dakić was born in 1980 in Banja Luka where he graduated as a civil engineer and then obtained his college degree as a professor of physical education and sports. At the Center for Environment since 2001, he started first as a volunteer, then as an activist, and in the last few years he became a coordinator of a program for Transport. He is engaged in promoting the use of bicycles as a means of transportation and is a fighter for the rights of cyclists in traffic, both in his city, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. He is also fluent in English and Italian. He is the motivator, initiator of the initiative and activist. He does not only talk about cycling, he lives it. For him, the bicycle is not just a means of transportation or a sport requisite, for him it is a life philosophy.
Jelena Ivanić was born in 1987 in Novi Grad. She graduated from the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Banja Luka. While studying, and through her later engagement in volunteer work, she participated in many youth exchange and training programs where she gained new experiences and motivation to deal with environmental protection. At Center for Environment she has been engaged since 2015 under the Energy and Climate Change Program. She finds inspiration and motivation in the fast mountainous rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, conservation she is actively fighting for.
Sandra was born in 1977 in Slavonski Brod. She grew up and finished her school studies in Banja Luka, and later at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade she became a graduate in journalism and communication. During her studies, she has worked in several Belgrade media and upon her return to Banja Luka she worked as a journalist and editor at the Nezavisne novine for eight years. For the past nine years she has been continuously enrolled in journalism, public relations and production affairs, as well as the organization of events within the framework of projects by several non-governmental organizations. She has been following the work of the Center and has been supporting professionally and privately since the start of the organization, and finally and officially she joined in 2018. Initially, she worked on a campaign against fossil fuels, and soon devoted herself to internal and external communication of the organization. She is a lover of nature and always looks for new adventures; one of them is every new working day in Center.
Jugoslav Jević was born in 1973 in Zagreb. As a professional in the civil society sector, engaged since 1999, and most of these years he worked in the area of the youth activism and volunteering. The biggest love in its work has to the development of the project ideas and programs, as also to organisational development, using the strategic approach as the only right way to do it. In Centre engaged as Assistant in Biodiversity and Protected Areas Program. Nature conservation he values as one of the most important obligations and responsibilities of each man, primarily to itself, but also to own family and future generations.
Dragan Kabić, born in 1992 in Novi Grad, graduated in philosophy at Faculty of Philosophy, University of Banja Luka. Besides his bohemian lifestyle, for which he has an impressive talent, he also shows his talents in the fields of philosophy and art (short stories writing and film photography). He's an outdoor sports junkie as well (rock climbing, mountaineering, hitchhiking, cycling and all other ways of losing himself in the woods, and towns too, is his free time preoccupation). In his non-free time, he’s currently working on the promotion of sustainable transport and urban mobility.
Ivana Čulić, born in 1994 and grew up in Novi Grad. In search for academic education she came to Banja Luka and she graduated Chemical engineering at Faculty of technology. During her studies she became interested in energy efficiency and she wrote her bachelor thesis in this field. In spring 2019, she started volonteering at Center for Environment, where she was helping in planning and preparing activist actions. She works in Energy and Climate Change Program. In free time she likes to explore nature, play football or drive bike.
Milica was born in 1995 in Prijedor. She graduated from the Department
of Biology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Banja
Luka. While studying she joined the Center as an activist. From 2020
she became a new member of the staff working as a coordinator for
SEENET network and as an assistant on the program Biodiversity and
Protected Areas. In the addition she is engaged in a project for
development of green roofs in city areas. Above all she enjoys being
active and using the most of her time spending it outside or training
rock climbing and target shooting.
Born in Zenica in 1991, Majda graduated from the Faculty of Math and Science in Tourism and Environmental Protection in Sarajevo. She has been an activist in her hometown for years, dealing with topics such as environment, culture, civic solidarity and disobedience, as well as sustainable living and change of consciousness. Along with friends she established and actively held a local youth association, with the aim of promoting all kinds of alternatives and resistance to mass consumerism. She also started Zenica’s Critical mass and Bajkultura, initiatives that promote bicycle as a lifestyle. Majda has been active in CfE since 2019 on the Energy and Climate Change program. She likes to joke that despite her positive vibes and attitude, obviously, she cannot run away from the dark topics such as coal and pollution: since she has years of work experience in a local coal mine, and at the same time resisting to a classical life in the most polluted BH city. She likes traveling to the unknown, cooking without any recipes, mountains, yoga and meditation. If she is not cycling around somewhere, then she enjoys walking her dog or cuddling her cat.
Ivana Kulic was born in Banja Luka in 1995. She graduated at the Faculty of Philosophy in Banja Luka, Department of Philosophy. She has been volunteering at the Centre for Environment since 2015, and among the her main fields of interest working with young activists and the topic of genetically modified organisms are standing out. In addition to her engagement in the CZZS, she is a member of the Friends of the Earth International working group for gender justice and dismantling patriarchy.
Dragana was born in 1984 in Banja Luka. She graduated at the Faculty of Agriculture in Banja Luka and she completed a master study program at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad. She worked at Agricultural Institute as a research associate for ten years. She participated in numerous educations and seminars in the country and abroad in the field of agriculture, food safety, GMOs, as well as creating and implementing effective social campaigns. She designed and participated in the development of numerous projects that were successfully implemented. She has been working in the NGO sector for two years and from 2019 is working in the Center for the environment as a project coordinator within Biodiversity and protected areas program. She likes to learn and quickly gains new knowledge and skills. Believes that the greatest obligation of each person is a responsibility to care for nature and to protect it.
Dragana was born in 1989 in Banja Luka where she graduated from a business school. She started studying economics, but soon realized she was on the wrong path. She begins volunteering in various organizations, and in February 2015 she joins the Center for Environment activist group where she remains to date. She participated in numerous camps where she gained number of experiences which she later used to motivate a new group of activists in the organization. She has contributed to Centers' work through the initiative “Our Space”. She started as a Logistics Assistant, then she became Coalition for rivers B&H coordinator. She is a great lover of nature and cycling, and she uses every opportunity to enjoy these.
Redzib was born in Zenica in 1988. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Zenica. After a two-year-long internship in court, he continues his involvement in transitional justice projects, both as a legal associate in the office of TRIAL International and as an external associate with the Anti-Doping Control Agency of BiH. At the same time, with the acquisition of professional experience, he is closely interested in the work of the non-governmental sector. He is continually involved and volunteers on several projects, inside and outside the country, with a focus on environmental conservation, sustainability and advocacy for the green agenda. After a short cooperation with the Center for Environment, and with the onset of the new decade, Redzib has been engaged in the Energy and Climate Change Program, with the aim of protecting the community and nature from unscrupulous exploitation. As a outdoor enthusiast, he enjoys traveling, practices escapism and photography - mostly on two wheels.
Bozana was born in 1987 in Derventa. She graduated in Banja Luka in 2010 from the Faculty of Economics, University of Banja Luka. She started working at the Center for Environment in November 2019 as a financial and administrative assistant. She has many years of experience in the non-governmental sector in the field of finance that she has acquired through various organizations with which she has collaborated. Through her work in the non-governmental sector she has undergone various trainings and trainings in the field of financing. She enjoys traveling, meeting new cultures and people.
Saša has joined the team of the Center for Environment in 2016 first as a Visual Coordinator who has brought new energy into everything we are doing and thus visually brought the organization closer to the set goals as well as to all people who follow our work on social networks. In addition, Saša's ideas have been realized through a large number of our public actions, video productions as well as logos such as the ones for Živi Vrbas, Coalition for the Protection of the Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Coalition for Vrbas etc. Saša stands behind the visual identity of Banja Luka's critical mass and is actively involved in the promotion of cycling in Banja Luka. In addition to the engagement in the Center for Environment, he is working on numerous creative projects, both with adults and children.