eUPSHIFT is your chance to change something for the better right where you live! Let’s remind ourselves…
What is eUPSHIFT?
eUPSHIFT is an online workshop for teams of young people aged 13 to 19, who notice a problem in their local communities and want to work on solving it. Through eUPSHIFT and with the support of amazing mentors and coaches, teams learn how to design a solution to a problem and compete for cash prizes with which they can implement their solutions.
10 teams will have the opportunity to participate in the second and 10 teams that will participate in the third eUPSHIFT workshop, and compete for one of 10 prizes in the amount of 3,000 KM! :O
The UPSHIFT program was created in UNICEF’s Office of Innovation and has been implemented in over 20 countries around the world. It has been held in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2020 within the Joint Regional Program “Dialogue for the Future” and with the financial support of the Kingdom of Sweden.
Who are these workshops for and when will they be held?
The second eUPSHIFT is intended for young people living in the municipalities: Drvar, Bosansko Grahovo, Glamoč, Kupres, Livno, Tomislavgrad, Široki Brijeg, Ljubuški, Grude, Posušje, Mostar, Konjic, Jablanica, Prozor-Rama, Čapljina, Stolac, Čitluk, Neum , Trebinje, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Bileća, Gacko. The second eUPSHIFT will be held from November 8 to 15, organized by the association “Laboratorium” Tuzla.
The third eUPSHIFT is intended for young people living in the municipalities: Banja Luka, Prnjavor, Kotor Varoš, Srbac, Gradiška, Doboj, Laktaši, Prijedor, Derventa and Mrkonjić Grad. The third eUPSHIFT will be held from December 6 to 13, organized by the association “Genesis Project” from Banja Luka.
Young people from marginalized groups such as members of the Roma population, young people with disabilities, young people without parental care and young people from families with poor socio-economic status are especially invited and encouraged to apply.
How do I apply?
- Assemble a team of between 3-5 members,
- All members should be between 13 and 19 years old,
- Members should be from the area covered by the second OR third eUPSHIFT (see above for a list of locations),
- (If necessary) come to one of our 20 Zoom conversations, hear more about eUPSHIFT, ask for help and ask any questions you have,
- Fill in the application form on the application link by October 22.
The application consists of three parts:
- Identification of problems from the local community,
- Description of the problem through a short, realistic story from everyday life and
- Three causes of the identified problem.
In the application we do not ask you to know the solution to the problem!
The description of the problem should be very specific, realistic and recognized as something that you or someone from your environment often face personally. It is very important that the problem is from the real-world environment, because we can find a solution to such problems at the eUPSHIFT workshop, and implement it using the money obtained. Problems such as unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, high poverty rates and the like are very complex and are not problems that the team needs to solve. If we focus on small, concrete, but important things, we can improve the quality of life of people in local communities and make gradual and beautiful changes for the better!
What if… you notice more problems, and you don’t know which one to report?
No problem – simply log in as one team multiple times, describing each problem individually. One team can apply more than once, but for each problem it is necessary to repeat the application procedure.
We look for a solution together in a workshop and learn to shape it, step by step!
Watch out now: we also organize gatherings, i.e. presentations and meetings on Zoom, to help you apply! While the applications are open, we will have 20 dates in which you will be able to join the Zoom conversation with the trainers of the eUPSHIFT BiH team and find out everything you are interested in about the workshop. Come and ask, because he who asks, need not wander!
What comes after the application?
After reviewing the received applications, we will select and then do the interviews:
- 20 teams for the second eUPSHIFT that we will contact on October 23 and
- 20 teams for the third eUPSHIFT that we will contact on November 2.
After the interview, a selection of 10 teams to participate in the second and 10 to participate in the third eUPSHIFT workshop will be made. Selected teams will be notified by phone that they have passed 10-15 days before the start of the workshop.
Applications for the second and third eUPSHIFT are open until October 22!
Before you start filling out the application, you can look through the application instructions, which can be found at the following link.
You can find the application for the workshops at this link.
You can find the application for Zoom informative presentations at this link.
If you have any additional questions, contact us via e-mail address upshift.bih@gmail.com or via Facebook page or Instagram profile.