Every year, young people leave. Not because they do not care about their community, but because they do not see enough opportunity there. You can change that.
Find the Partnership Level That Fits Your Community.
Mozaik YouthBanks strengthen local communities by developing young people, supporting youth-led projects and helping young businesses create reasons to stay. For the 2027 cycle, we will work with up to 50 communities. If you agree your partnership before adopting your 2027 budget, Mozaik adds 50% matching funding to Blue Grants. The partnership assessment takes about 5 minutes. You see the result immediately on screen, without leaving your contact details.
The assessment is internal and non-binding. You receive a recommendation for one of three partnership packages, Start, Development or Strategic Partnership, or a proposed preparation pathway, with concrete next steps for your community.
45
local communities in the programme
5.585
youth-led projects across Bosnia and Herzegovina
505
businesses and microbusinesses supported
87,000+
young people involved through Mozaik YouthBanks
What We Actually Do in Your Municipality or City
Three Areas of Work. One Local System.
Mozaik YouthBanks are not a single call for proposals or a single grant. Three areas work together so that young people, projects and businesses grow within the same local system. Open public calls create competition for the strongest candidates and ideas. A transparent, repeatable process creates measurable value for the community.
Area 1
YouthBank Executive Team
Open public call
Young people from your community are selected through an open public process, trained and given responsibility for running the YouthBank locally. A new generation joins every year, while the skills and leadership capacity remain in the community.
Assistants and Coordinators are selected locally
Area 2
Orange Grants
Up to BAM 3,000 per project
Project grants initiated, selected and led by young people, from the idea and budget through negotiation, implementation and public reporting. For many, this is their first real experience of responsibility.
Open call · Clear criteria · Digital tracking
Area 3
Blue Grants
Up to BAM 10,000 per business
Grants for youth-led businesses with the potential to strengthen the local economy, including trades, technology, ESG and exports. Through the SPRING project and connections with Sweden's ecosystem, Mozaik Foundation further connects these businesses with mentors, EU markets and partners. The programme is funded by Sweden and jointly implemented by EDA, Mozaik Foundation and SERDA.
We follow progress towards the first invoice, first EU customer and first jobs
All three areas operate through the same Executive Team, transparent process and digital trail. Your community gets one integrated system, not three disconnected programmes.
Example from Practice
Tešanj: 19 Years, 206 Projects, 14 Youth Businesses.
The Municipality of Tešanj joined the programme in 2007. Since then, together with Mozaik Foundation, it has supported 206 youth-led projects through Orange Grants and 14 youth businesses through Blue Grants, with a combined value of BAM 724,812. Generations of young people from Tešanj have gone through the YouthBank Executive Team. Some now hold roles at the Bosnia and Herzegovina level of the Mozaik network. That is not a coincidence. It is a system.
The Difference Between a Project and a System.
There are fundamental differences between our system and a conventional project model that cannot realistically provide long-term support to young people and local communities.
Standard Project Model
Mozaik Foundation System
Standard Model vs. Mozaik System
You get one grant and one project.
You get two grant pathways: Orange Grants of up to BAM 3,000 for youth-led projects and Blue Grants of up to BAM 10,000 for youth-led businesses.
You get one grant and one project.
You get two grant pathways: Orange Grants of up to BAM 3,000 for youth-led projects and Blue Grants of up to BAM 10,000 for youth-led businesses.
Young people have no formal role or development pathway.
Young people can progress through four roles: Assistant and Coordinator in your community, then Lead and Adviser within the Bosnia and Herzegovina network.
Young people have no formal role or development pathway.
Young people can progress through four roles: Assistant and Coordinator in your community, then Lead and Adviser within the Bosnia and Herzegovina network.
Young people attend a workshop.
Young people learn through 30% theory and 70% practice, working on real projects and businesses they lead themselves.
Young people attend a workshop.
Young people learn through 30% theory and 70% practice, working on real projects and businesses they lead themselves.
Skills remain invisible.
Skills are evidenced and documented through Rolify, the career-development platform.
Skills remain invisible.
Skills are evidenced and documented through Rolify, the career-development platform.
You get a short-term grant effect.
Mozaik connects youth-led businesses in trades, technology, ESG and exports with mentors, EU markets and partners through SPRING, supporting their path towards growth and first jobs. The programme is funded by Sweden and jointly implemented by EDA, Mozaik Foundation and SERDA.
You get a short-term grant effect.
Mozaik connects youth-led businesses in trades, technology, ESG and exports with mentors, EU markets and partners through SPRING, supporting their path towards growth and first jobs. The programme is funded by Sweden and jointly implemented by EDA, Mozaik Foundation and SERDA.
You get another public call.
You establish a transparent standard with a digital trail and partnerships that have lasted nearly 20 years in communities such as Tešanj and Modriča.
You get another public call.
You establish a transparent standard with a digital trail and partnerships that have lasted nearly 20 years in communities such as Tešanj and Modriča.
Your grant fund launches projects and businesses. Mozaik turns that investment into skills, stronger local economic activity and a model that leaves more capacity in the community every year.
How the Process Works
One Cycle. Five Clear Stages.
This is not a small-project competition. It is an operating standard repeated every year, giving your community a predictable rhythm and clear results.
Partnership and Executive Team Setup
Your local government finances the grant fund according to the agreed package. Mozaik Foundation provides the methodology and tools. Together, we launch an open public call for YouthBank Assistants and Coordinators in your community.
Training Young People to Lead
The Executive Team is trained through Mozaik Foundation's methodology: 30% theory and 70% practice. Young people prepare to manage the Orange Grant cycle, conduct qualification interviews and communicate transparently with the public.
Orange Grants: Young People Decide
During the year, we launch public calls for Orange Grants of up to BAM 3,000 per project. Young people evaluate applications and make decisions themselves. The process is public and leaves a clear digital trail in the MOB portal.
Blue Grants: Interviews and Decisions According to the Partnership Package
Blue Grants of up to BAM 10,000 include qualification interviews and a transparent decision-making process. Depending on the selected partnership package, representatives of your local government may participate in interviews and decisions together with the Mozaik Foundation team and young people. Decisions are public and explained.
Regular Reporting to the Council and the Public
Reporting is provided regularly, according to the frequency and scope defined in the selected partnership package. Reports show grants awarded, where public funds went and the results achieved, giving your council and the public a clear trail behind the investment.
Youth Career Pathway
From Assistant in Your Community to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Network.
Young people do not receive only a grant. They get a clear development pathway through four roles: two locally and two within the wider Mozaik network. This is one reason strong young talent remains connected with the community even after continuing their education.
Local level · Your municipality or city
Bosnia and Herzegovina level · Mozaik network
Assistant
Local level
An entry role in the YouthBank Executive Team. The young person learns the process, supports activities and takes responsibility for their first smaller tasks.
Coordinator
Local level
Leads the local YouthBank Executive Team, organises grant cycles and works with local institutions and media.
Lead
Bosnia and Herzegovina level
Coordinates YouthBanks across a wider region, transfers the methodology and supports new communities joining the system.
Adviser
Bosnia and Herzegovina level
The highest level: a strategic role in the national Mozaik YouthBanks network, supporting young leaders and helping design future cycles and programmes.
A young person who starts as an Assistant in your community can progress to leading the local YouthBank and, among the strongest, continue as a Lead or Adviser in the Bosnia and Herzegovina network. Your community becomes not only a place that retains talent, but a source of talent recognised across the country.
Why Partners Stay for Years.
They do not stay because the story sounds good. They stay because they see the difference. Once this standard is established, returning to the old way of working feels like a step backwards.
"Together with Mozaik Foundation, we have spent years building a system that gives young people a real opportunity to show what they know, what they can do and what they want to change. When a community has hundreds of supported projects and real youth-led businesses, the question is no longer whether the model works. The question is how many more young people we can involve."
Suad Huskić
Mayor of Tešanj Municipality
Partner since 2007.
"Every BAM invested in this programme has a clear trail, from the public call and selection decision to young people's reports. When someone asks me where the money went, I have a documented answer. That gives me confidence as a mayor and gives citizens trust."
Miroslav Drljača
Mayor of Novi Grad Municipality
Partner since 2010.
"Systematic work with young people has been a shared objective of Žepče Municipality and Mozaik Foundation since 2010. Together, we developed a recognisable methodology for implementing projects of public and youth interest. As Mayor, I am proud of all 165 projects we have implemented together for young people in Žepče."
Mato Zovko
Mayor of Žepče Municipality
Partner since 2010.
"If you want a sustainable programme for young people, opening one call is not enough. You need a system. Mozaik YouthBanks help turn support for young people into a local mechanism rather than a one-off activity."
Armin Halitović
Mayor of Bosanska Krupa
Partner since 2013.
"In a small community like Berkovići, there is nowhere to hide behind statistics. Everything that is done can be seen. Through the YouthBank and projects led by informal youth groups, numerous initiatives have improved our community. These are not numbers. They are our young people taking initiative and showing that Berkovići has the energy, ideas and strength to change things for the better."
Bojan Samardžić
Mayor of Berkovići Municipality
Partner since 2020.
"Small steps can create big things. Our budget is modest, but each year leaves something behind. Young people propose, we invest, and Mozaik brings the methodology, training and tools. Young women from the programme have gone on to start their own businesses. In a place like Drvar, that is visible."
Dušica Runić
Mayor of Drvar Municipality
Partner since 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions.
How do we know which package suits our community?
The fastest way is the partnership assessment: ten questions taking about five minutes, with your result shown immediately. Based on your readiness to work with young people, capacity and ambition, it recommends a Start, Development or Strategic partnership for the four-year 2027–2030 cycle, with concrete figures for your community, or a preparatory pathway if the foundations need to be established first. The result is an internal recommendation with no obligation.
What exactly do we get for our investment?
This depends on the package that suits you. Each package for 2027–2030 includes youth projects (orange grants up to BAM 3,000), youth businesses (blue grants up to BAM 10,000), expert-support vouchers and engaged volunteers. Higher packages include more of each. The assessment recommends the appropriate package and shows the number of grants and investment for your community. Mozaik Foundation adds methodology, training for the YouthBank Executive Team, peer learning and a digital record.
What is Mozaik matching and who can use it?
Mozaik Foundation adds 50% co-financing for blue grants, covers 100% of expert-support vouchers and provides 1:1 development support, but only for communities that conclude a partnership before adopting their 2027 budget. The aim is for public funding for young people's businesses to start 2027 already increased, without waiting for another cycle. Communities joining later will not enjoy this benefit in full.
How many communities will enter the new cycle?
In the cycle starting in 2027, we plan to work with up to 50 local communities in total, including around five to ten Strategic partnerships. New places are limited by our capacity to provide quality support: we do not accept more partners than we can support at the standard we promise.
Why is the deadline before adoption of the 2027 budget important?
Most municipalities and cities adopt their 2027 budgets in October or November 2026. After that, it is difficult to change the grant-fund allocation. Concluding a partnership before the deadline allows the matching mechanism to be included in the plan, so funding for young people's businesses starts already increased, without waiting for the next cycle.
What exactly do you do with young people in our community?
Through an open public call, we recruit and qualify a YouthBank Executive Team: local young people who manage the orange-grant process and decide on grants of up to BAM 3,000 for youth projects. For blue grants of up to BAM 10,000 for youth businesses, local-government participation in interviews and decisions depends on the partnership package. The entire grant process has a digital record in the MOB portal.
Can our young people work beyond our municipality?
Yes. A young person starting as an Executive Team assistant can progress over several cycles to local YouthBank coordinator, then to a leadership or advisory role in Mozaik Foundation's national network. Your community does more than retain young people: it becomes a source of talent recognised across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Who can start the assessment and conversation with Mozaik Foundation?
A mayor, municipal leadership or cabinet, a department responsible for social affairs, the economy or young people, or a person leading community development programmes. The partnership assessment is the first step: ten questions, about five minutes, with no obligation. It is followed by a 30-minute conversation with the Mozaik Foundation team.
How is the integrity of the process protected?
Every grant call is public. Criteria are defined in advance and decisions are documented. Digital tracking in the MOB portal provides a complete overview of the investment. If your council or the public asks a question, you have a clear answer supported by evidence.
What if our community does not have a strong economy or diaspora?
Some of the programme's most successful communities are small and rural. The programme adapts to the local context. The first goal is to build people, sound processes and evidence, then expand the network of partners and opportunities.
Clear from the Start
What We Ask from You to Make the System Work.
Mozaik Foundation brings the methodology, network and digital tools. For the standard to work in your community, we ask for three clear commitments. Nothing hidden and nothing added later.
Operational Investment According to the Selected Package
The total investment for the 2027-2030 cycle depends on the package recommended for your community and covers the grant fund and implementation support. The Partnership Assessment provides the appropriate level and concrete figures. Mozaik Foundation adds 50% matching funding to Blue Grants for eligible partnerships.
Participation in Blue Grant Interviews and Decisions
Depending on the selected partnership package, your representative from the mayor's office or responsible department participates in qualification interviews and decisions on Blue Grants together with Mozaik Foundation and young people. The exact level of participation is defined by the selected package. Decisions are publicly explained.
Commitment to Publicly Present Results
We ask for visible support before the council and in the media, and a willingness to publicly present results according to the reporting arrangements defined in the selected partnership package. This makes support for young people part of the community's official commitment, not another side project.
Why Now
Three Reasons This Decision Is Made in 2026.
The 2027 cycle is not unlimited. Mozaik matching is tied to the point at which your council adopts its budget, which for most local governments is in October or November 2026.
Up to 50 Communities in the 2027 Cycle
We plan to work with up to 50 local partnerships, approximately 5-10 of them Strategic Partnerships. We will not take on more communities than we can support at the quality level we guarantee. Places for new partners are limited.
50% Mozaik Matching for Blue Grants
For communities that conclude the partnership before adopting their 2027 budget, Mozaik Foundation adds 50% matching funding to Blue Grants, 100% of professional-support vouchers and 1:1 business-development support. This means funding for youth-led businesses starts already leveraged.
Timing: October-November 2026
Most municipalities and cities adopt their 2027 budgets in October or November 2026. After that, changing the grant-fund allocation becomes difficult. The 5-minute assessment and follow-up conversation can be completed before that deadline.
The assessment is internal and non-binding. A conversation with the Mozaik Foundation team follows only if you choose to take the next step.
Ready to Find the Right Partnership for Your Community?
The assessment takes about 5 minutes and gives you a concrete recommendation: Start, Development or Strategic Partnership for the four-year 2027-2030 cycle, or a preparation pathway if your community needs additional readiness work first. It also shows the concrete investment for your community and the 50% Mozaik matching available for Blue Grants if the partnership is concluded before your 2027 budget is adopted.
From 2027, we will work with no more than 50 local communities. New partnerships are limited by our capacity to provide quality support.
Partnership Assessment
Find the Partnership Level That Fits Your Community.
10 questions. About 5 minutes. Your result appears immediately on screen, without leaving your contact details. The assessment is internal and supports your decision. Honest answers lead to a recommendation that reflects the actual situation in your municipality or city.
For your community
Find the partnership level that fits your community
This assessment supports your decision-making — honest answers lead to a recommendation that genuinely fits.
Answer 10 short questions and immediately receive a preliminary recommendation for one of the three packages or a preparation pathway, without leaving your contact details. If you want a detailed recommendation by email, you provide your details only after seeing the result.
10 questions · Immediate result · No contact details required