Maja Džafić

Maja Džafić is an award-winning educator from Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who has dedicated more than three decades to transforming education in one of the country’s most challenging post-conflict environments. Her journey began under the siege of Bihać during the 1992–1995 war, when, still a teenager, she stepped into a classroom without formal training in order to help her community survive. Teaching in buildings protected with sandbags, without electricity, books or supplies, she discovered her life’s mission: shaping compassionate, resilient young people through knowledge.

After the war, Maja pursued extensive academic development, completing two university degrees and later a master’s degree focused on anti-war messages in Yugoslav literature. She taught early-years students for 15 years before becoming a history teacher for adolescents aged 11–15, a role she continues to this day. Confronting ongoing challenges—interethnic tensions, rising femicide, gender inequality, discrimination against national minorities and the marginalisation of Roma people—she has become a national advocate for human rights, peacebuilding, women’s empowerment and cultural preservation in education.

Maja is celebrated for her highly creative, student-centred pedagogical methods. She established her school’s “School Museum,” featuring an Archaeological, Memory and Film Museum, enabling students to create exhibits that deepen historical understanding through collaboration and joy. Her role-play method brings historical figures to life, while her practice “What’s the doll’s name?” fills curriculum gaps by introducing influential women in history.

Her most acclaimed innovation is History Book, a fictional social network through which students reimagine the lives of women from the past as if they were online influencers today. This groundbreaking practice won her Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest national teaching honour—the Innovative Teacher Award (2024) presented by COI Step by Step. Educators nationwide and at universities have since adopted her method.

As Head of the History Club, Maja mentors young activists who have earned numerous national awards. Her students won first place in the national competition “Silence Is Not an Option When It Comes to Violence” for their film against violence toward women. Twenty-eight students have been named Ambassadors of Women’s Rights by DVV International. Her school has twice earned top national recognition at European Cultural Heritage Days, with awards personally presented by the Minister of Culture.

She is equally committed to Roma inclusion, having created films, workshops, curricula and school-wide lessons on Roma language, culture and history. Her students’ work has been broadcast on national and regional media. She also engages in environmental education, facilitates interethnic cooperation between schools and leads community clean-up and remembrance activities.

Maja is an influential voice in public discourse on education, frequently appearing on regional and national television. She trains teachers, mentors new educators, publishes academic papers, and presents at international conferences. A long-time volunteer, she has contributed to cultural, ecological and diaspora initiatives, including teaching at a nature-based summer school.

Recognised as a transformative figure in Bosnian education, Maja continues to champion creativity, peacebuilding, gender equality, Roma inclusion and cultural heritage—shaping new generations of empathetic global citizens.