ABOUT US

Zene Za Zene International (ZZI) was formally registered in 2001 as BiH Association, but had already been active since 1994 as the Bosnian branch of the Women for Women International (WfWI) focused on women's survival and support in times of conflict and after.

Since our founding, we have directly impacted the lives of nearly 63,000 women across more than 50 communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through our comprehensive programs and financial support, we have enabled over 35,000 women to access life skills, business and vocational training, and essential resources, including conditional cash transfers for program participants.

ZZI is dedicated to enhancing women's economic, political, and social rights, empowering them to actively engage in decision-making processes within their families and local communities

ZZI believes in the strengthening of community by supporting individual and collective initiatives of women. That's why we have supported the establishment of 30 women's associations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, fostering solidarity and collaboration among women from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.

ZENE ZA ZENE CORE COMPETENCES

DEMOCRACY, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT & SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:

  • ZZI through the project Democracy Academy for Young Women engages women to help them in promoting women’s participation in local decision-making, increase their capacities, know their rights and gain new skills and confidence to participate in civic affairs, and to contribute to women’s better positioning, inter-ethnic cooperation, peacebuilding and peace activism, dialogue and governance acco
  • untability, and the importance of youth participation in elections. For 8 years, ZZI has been implementing Democracy Academy projects for young women and so far, more than 200 young women have been part of this program.  and they have established functional partnerships with host organizations, and local communities to develop and implement small projects e.g. volunteered (20000 hrs in 30 local NGOs) implementing different civic initiatives.
  • ZZI’s projects are directed at strengthening women NGOs and women’s leadership skills in different fields (business, media, governmental and nongovernmental, politics, economy, etc.).

This project has been supported by National Endowment for Democracy.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT:

  • ZZI has been a part of the COSME/now SMP Program as one of the partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Consortium for Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs – a cross-border program facilitating the exchange of entrepreneurial and management experience for 7 years. The exchange is implemented by a stay of a newly established or potential entrepreneur with a well-experienced entrepreneur running a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) in another country (2020-2027)

  • Training and Support focused on work with women CSOs in rural areas in terms of advanced income generation skills, business development, entrepreneurship, market linkages, and collaboration with micro-finance institutions and the government for capital and investment opportunities.
  • Vocational skills in creation and manufacturing of a variety of products: For the last ten years, ZZI has been providing economic projects for supporting women NGOs and their membership to produce fashion accessories for the globally-recognized high fashion companies of Kate Spade and Anthropologie as well as manufacturing traditional carpets. ZZI has been implementing educational projects for cultivation and processing medicinal and aromatic plants, beekeeping through USAID/SIDA FARMA projects, educational projects in production and processing fruits and vegetables and dairy products through UNDP projects etc. mainly for women in rural areas BiH.

NETWORKING

Networking of women NGOs from Rural areas: In 2018, ZZI facilitated the establishment of a Network of Women’s Associations for Rural Development in BIH, now gathering 20 women’s associations.

 

CRISIS RESPONSE FUND (CRF) FOR UKRAINE

Since 2022, Zene za Zene International is managing WfWI's Crisis Response fund for Ukraine. Based on highly effective program for survivors of war in Bosnia, ZZI have created a unique response to meet the emerging needs of displaced women in Ukraine and Poland, who are victims of war violence, or women fleeing alone and at risk of trafficking or abuse. The CRF focuses on providing grants crucial women-centered services for survivors of war and/or SGBV in Ukraine and Poland by creating safe living conditions, providing psychological, legal and administrative support as well as integration and vocational orientation sessions.

PROJECT “TOWARDS EQUALITY”

ZZI together with French organization Empower Her Global is implementing the project “Towards equality” – with the aim to boost egalitarian, inclusive, and feminist dynamics in Eastern Europe, and in particular in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the current geopolitical, economic, and social contexts are severely hampering women's rights and the fight against gender inequality. Through the creation of a dedicated Third-Place Center, the project will focus more specifically on promoting entrepreneurship as a source of dignity, value, and empowerment for women, as well as on raising awareness and mobilizing citizens as agents of change in the service of a culture of equality. The project is supported by Agence Française de Développement – AFD.