Social changes and innovations are the best indicators of how active young people can and want to be and how much their work can raise the standards and quality of life of all citizens in a local community. The Youth Innovation Award 2022 (#YIA2022) aimed to contribute to the affirmation of future innovative youth leaders, their work, and their significance in society, and to motivate young people to contribute and actively participate in creating better conditions for life.
On one of the local portals, Damir Hanic found an invitation to the Youth Innovation Award 2022 competition organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the Institute for Youth Development KULT at the initiative of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to BiH Jan Waltmans.
By applying to the competition and presenting his innovative solution to the problem of air pollution, Damir delighted the expert jury, winning first place, as well as a cash prize and mentoring for the realization of the idea. Today, a few months later, Damir says that #YIA2022 has proven to be a perfect opportunity for creative young people who want to present their idea and get support thanks to which they will be able to put their dreams into action.
He came up with the idea of the MED module four years ago while he was on a student exchange in Italy. He says that he was a very creative child and that as a child he wanted to be an astronaut. He primarily wanted to work with rockets and focus his innovation on that, and after coming from Italy, he gave up on that idea, because he realized that in the conditions offered by BiH, such an idea was not the most useful and that he would not be able to explain to anyone why he considers the idea based on rockets to be important. To replace the rocket, Damir came up with a drone. The way the MED module works is to purify the polluted air with the help of a drone to which an engine and a capsule containing silver iodide are attached. In order for the module to be activated, the drone needs to reach a certain temperature that is above the smog, and then, by starting the engine, sprinkle the smog with silver iodide. In this way, by creating artificial rain, the smog will be broken and cavities will be created through which the heat and rays of the sun will pass.
In addition to Damir’s family, he is greatly supported by close friends who know how much effort he put into the MED module, how much this idea means to him, and how important it can be for the entire community and the problem of polluted air. Damir believes that this idea could contribute to the entire society because the problem of smog is really a problem for all of us. In addition to the monetary prize, Damir adds that he also considers the numerous acquaintances and connections he has made as a prize, which, according to him, is a great advantage of this competition:
“To make concrete undertakings and reach numerous contacts that will be support and help in the future. In this process, I met new people and learned a lot of useful information from other competitors and people from the Institute for Youth Development KULT with whom I was in contact.”
The most important thing he learned during the Youth Innovation Award 2022 for Damir is, as he says, entrepreneurial thinking.
“Through education, you also get a slightly different vision. The education we did with successful entrepreneur Mrs. Erna Sosevic showed us what investors are actually looking for, and what interests them, and that is a little different from what interests us as innovators. We all missed that touch of business, before the Youth Innovation Award we didn’t think like businessmen,” states Damir, and adds that in his next steps, he will always try to think in this way as well, Akta reports.
E.Dz.
