Keeping the heart of a town alive in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Story

18 Apr 2025

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In Foča, a town in the southeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Cultural Centre serves as the hub that brings people together. However, poor insulation has threatened its existence. This is a story of how climate action can keep a small town alive. 

 

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The Centre for Culture and Information (Cultural Centre) located right in the heart of Foča, a town in the southeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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Various activities take place inside the Cultural Centre. One of the well-lit rooms houses paintings by the local art club. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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Friendships are formed alongside the activities that take place inside the Cultural Centre. Members of the Association of Women of Foča meet in the attic of the Centre three times a week to work on arts and crafts. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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Students can now comfortably use the library in the Cultural Centre to study. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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The choir using one of the rooms on the ground floor of the Cultural Centre to practice. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza
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The Cultural Centre also has a cinema – the only one in Foča. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza
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Slavica Filipović, Director of the Cultural Centre, shows the refurbished boiler in the Centre's basement. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza
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‘The coal and smoke – it was black smoke all around the building. It was horrible. Now we can live,’ said Slavica Filipović, Director of the Cultural Centre. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza
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Near the Cultural Centre, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of East Sarajevo in Foča also got retrofitted through the project. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza
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Through the project, the school could have a proper environment for studying – well insulated from extreme temperatures. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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The school has also been vital to keeping the town of Foča alive, attracting both foreign and local students to study medicine. Photo/GCF Christopher Rompre
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No longer burning coal. The school now uses an energy-efficient, low-carbon heating system powered by pellets. Photo/GCF Angeli Mendoza

 

Learn more about how the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is working together with the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to make public buildings energy-efficient.

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