Recognizing the urgent need to improve urban spaces in Sarajevo and create a healthier, greener, and more inclusive environment for all generations, Green Connections brings an innovative approach to community-led urban transformation. Through this project, neglected and underutilized urban spaces will be turned into intergenerational community gardens – vibrant places where older and younger citizens come together to plant, learn, exchange knowledge, and care for their shared environment. In doing so, Green Connections fosters greener, more resilient, and socially connected neighborhoods.
Beyond its environmental focus, Green Connections addresses an important social dimension. Sarajevo, like many cities, faces increasing social isolation between generations, with few spaces that encourage meaningful interaction between older and younger residents. By creating gardens together, older citizens actively contribute to community life, while younger generations gain practical skills, reconnect with nature, and learn valuable knowledge from their elders. This mutual exchange strengthens intergenerational ties, promotes social inclusion, and builds a stronger sense of belonging in the community.
Green Connections adopts a participatory approach, ensuring that the community itself plays a central role throughout the process — from identifying suitable garden locations to shaping their design and long-term use. To support this, the project will conduct community mapping of potential garden sites, using GIS and iNaturalist tools to collect citizen input. This will be complemented by a social media campaign to encourage wider participation, inviting residents to suggest locations and share their ideas.
The core of the project is the creation of a pilot intergenerational garden, developed in cooperation with the Center for Healthy Aging. This garden will serve as a practical learning space, where older and younger residents collaborate on all aspects of gardening – from soil preparation to planting and maintenance. To deepen this learning process, the project will host three intergenerational workshops on traditional gardening techniques,ecological education, and sustainable living practices. Additionally, two community-led events will be organized – a collective planting day at the start and a final event to showcase results and celebrate community achievements.
As a lasting output, the project will produce a set of Recommendations for Implementing Community Gardens – a practical guide designed to support the replication of this model in other neighborhoods across Sarajevo. This ensures that Green Connections has an impact far beyond its initial pilot site.
The project is supported by the EIT Community New European Bauhaus (NEB) and implemented by CENER 21, in close collaboration with the Center for Healthy Aging Sarajevo, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Sarajevo, local schools, and community groups.
„The EIT Community New European Bauhaus (NEB) is funded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) and supports citizens, grass-roots initiatives and startups that embody the core values of the European Commission’s New European Bauhaus movement – sustainability, inclusivity, and beauty – through business creation & acceleration, funding, mentorship, and networking“.
Project duration: February 2025 – November 2025
Total project budget: 18,375 EUR
