Team
Elma Demir
Co-founder and President
Elma Demir is Senior Researcher and Project Manager with over 20 years of professional experience in managing multisectoral interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of social sciences, public policy and social development. She specializes in the evaluation of science, research, and innovation ecosystems.
Aida Vežić
Co-founder and Chief of Programs
Aida Vežić is Secretary General of the Balkan Museum Network, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She completed the Faculty of Economics at the University of Sarajevo and Master Program “Cultural Projects for Development“. Aida is developing civil society organisations in the last 25 years and working as consultant, facilitator, researcher and trainer. Her work has mostly been cross-border focusing on culture, heritage and peace building.
Nina Branković
Co-founder and Chief of Partnerships
Nina Branković is a senior expert in education policy and curriculum development with over 25 years of experience working across the European Union and the Western Balkans. She specializes in education system reform, vocational education and training (VET), digital learning, and strengthening links between education and labour markets. Her work focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of education policies and large-scale international programmes.
Vuk Vuković
External Researcher
Vuk Vuković is a Doctoral Researcher in behavioral economics and nonprofit marketing. Before starting his PhD at KU Leuven, he studied at Central European University and worked at Ipsos and Catalyst Balkans. He specializes in survey design, and social impact evaluations.
Dino Šakanović
External Researcher
Dino Šakanović is a historian, researcher, and journalist with a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of Sarajevo. Focused on issues of social and economic transition, memory culture, workers’ rights, and environmental justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region. Skilled in data collection and analysis, archival research, interviews, and developing public policy recommendations. Has published in numerous academic journals and participated in international conferences across Europe. Currently employed as a researcher and fact-checker, with additional engagements as a lecturer and educator.
Alma Nedić
External Education Expert
Alma Nedić contributes to initiatives in the fields of education, culture, and social inclusion. She has more than 10 years of professional experience working on programmes that support community development, youth engagement, and access to education and cultural participation. Her work focuses on designing and implementing activities that strengthen social inclusion and empower marginalized grops through educational and cultural initiatives.
Marija Runić
External Researcher
Marija Runić is a linguist and researcher based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is an Associate Professor of Romance Linguistics at the University of Banja Luka. She earned her PhD from the University of Padua and is a Fulbright Program scholar. Her research focuses on endangered languages, language and education, language policy in post-conflict societies, and language documentation and description. She has conducted extensive fieldwork and specializes in qualitative data collection, corpus-based research, and the analysis of public policies related to language. In addition to her academic work, she has experience collaborating with institutions and the language industry, and has served as a visiting professor in Italy and the United States. She has also coordinated and participated in several Erasmus+ projects focused on language, education, and international academic cooperation.
Dragana Dardić
External Researcher
Dragana Dardić holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies and has more than 15 years of experience conducting gender analyses, particularly in the areas of media and political representation. She has also developed educational programs in the field of gender equality and has been actively advocating for the advancement of women’s status in society. She has been active in the non-governmental sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region for more than 20 years, with extensive experience in program management. She served as the Executive Director of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly for 10 years.
Lejla Alić
Project Manager
Lejla Alić is a project and programme manager with over a decade of experience coordinating grant-funded cultural, educational, and institutional initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across the Western Balkans. She has extensive expertise in project development, multi-partner coordination, fundraising, and donor compliance, working with international consortia, cultural institutions, NGOs, and public authorities. She has served as Project Coordinator within the EU Horizon Europe project AURORA at the Balkan Museum Network and previously worked as Project Manager at the War Childhood Museum, where she developed and implemented educational and cultural programmes and managed international donor-funded projects.