It s true, we love out-of-the-box thinkers. This is why we love working with the innovative and creative team from Mozaik Foundation.
It is highly unlikely we have a meeting with them without at least one new light bulb popping above our heads (Read: An initiative is born each time we see each other). When they invited us for a collaboration on their new project involving senior influencers, and we jumped at the chance to work with them.
First, let s give you a bit of background.
Intergenerational Solidarity: The Project We Love
The scope of Mozaik s Intergenerational Project is quite wide. The main goal of the project is to create a platform for the third-age population to collaborate with the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are people from 31 municipalities and towns involved in the project!
The Senior Influencers subproject is where Maestral got involved! The idea of this subproject is to create more visibility of the third-age influencers on social media. Aside from not being from the Gen Y , which is a typical influencer age group, senior influencers create added value and share genuine content without focusing on monetizing it.
The two incredible women are Mozaik s ambassadors and influencers in the making: Suada from Sarajevo and Slobodanka from Sokolac. The two women are of the same age but somewhat different in nature Suada is a retired IT expert, who loves to act, hike, and write, while Slobodanka is a creative adventurer, passionate about traditional ways of living. Her biggest passion is knitting, and producing different accessories she sells all over the world via Etsy. Yes, Slobodanka uses Etsy. And very successfully if we may add.
Hosting the Influencer in Our Own House
As her story resonated with us, we wanted to host Suada in Maestral.
Amina Muzurović, our 23-year-old mobile developer, one of the best basketball judges in BiH and overall Maestral’s pride, was the host for Suada and the Mozaik team in our office in Sarajevo. As you have surely guessed, it did not take long for these two to bond over a mutual passion for IT and a healthy lifestyle.
Amina and Suada didn t miss a chance to discuss the differences between working in the IT industry then and now. Aside from the incredible open spaces, aesthetics, perks, benefits, and personal freedoms the IT industry brings, in her conversation with Amina, Suada reflected on the different starting points for girls and women back in the day and now.
If I could, I d do it all over again, even sooner, if only I had the opportunity. At the time, technology was at a different stage than today and knowledge was not so easily accessible , says Suada about her experience as a woman in the IT industry 40 years ago. As the conversation went on, the two discussed different types of projects they tackled, programs, types of computers, etc. Always do your best, and always have fun while at it , added Suada.
Everyone who was in the office that day was truly inspired by Suada. If we didn t know she was enjoying her retirement so much, we would have considered offering her a job!
Why Does This Project Matter?
The project matters to us for two reasons: it s about tech, and it s about people using tech!
In line with our value People First we d like to shed light on the human aspect underpinning this project. Digital transformation involves a few disruptions in the manner we do our business, and even socialize, and yes it involves a switch from physical to digital channels.
Being a digital citizen requires not only access to the Internet but its active use. Since digitalization is a process that will not stop, it is really important to close the generation gap and enhance digital inclusion across generations.
The project tackles another issue not often highlighted in our community ageism. Enabling third-age citizens to actively participate in the creation and sharing of content, breaks stereotypes, and brings generations closer.
It is for these, and many other reasons, we salute projects that bring generations together, and communities closer. That is why we love our cooperation with Mozaik Foundation.
To Suada, and the entire Mozaik team You are always welcome in Maestral. We are looking forward to the next adventure.