Dr Pilvi Torsti
The United World College in Mostar is registered as a private school under the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The legal founder of the UWC Mostar is the Foundation Education in Action. UWC Mostar is governed by the College Board, and is led by the College Head.
Foundation Education in Action
The Foundation Education in Action is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Foundation is a successor to the UWC-IBO Initiative in BiH which established the UWC Mostar in 2006.
The Foundation's mission is to provide the next generations of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the knowledge, skills, leadership qualities and international values, necessary to overcome the ethnic divides and move their nation into the 21st century.
Founders
Elisabeth Rehn
Lamija Tanović
Chair of the Governing Board
Pilvi Torsti
Members of the Governing Board
Jasminka Bratić
Ivan Lorenčič
Adriaan de Mol van Otterloo
United World College in Mostar
The United World College in Mostar was established in 2006. It is governed by a College Board comprising of up to 13 members, representing the Founder (the Foundation Education in Action), college staff, parents, UWC International, alumni, and others.
The College Board’s responsibilities include appointing the College Head and advising and monitoring the Head’s work, adopting policy documents, approving the annual working plan and budget of the school submitted by the College Head, adopting annual financial reports by the college, and being directly responsible to UWC International for adherence to UWC criteria and standards.
The College Head is responsible for the executive management of the College, with the support of the Leadership Team which includes coordinators for Academia, Advancement and Outreach, Finance and Administration, Pastoral Care, and Co-curriculum.
Founder
Foundation Education in Action
Chair of the College Board
Elvira Dilberović
Members of the College Board of the UWC Mostar 2023-2027
1. Jasminka Bratić (Deputy Chair)
2. Fleur Meijs (Permanent Proxy for the Chair)
3. Ivan Lorenčič
4. Andrew Bennett
5. Mirna Doyle
6. Sandra Ann Thomas
7. Judy Peritz Wynne
8. Anja Weiss
9. Mia Glamuzina
10. Ruijie (Jerry) Huang
11. Marcin Stanek
12. Damir Čobo
Additional members of the College Board Subcommittees:
1. Robert Hilliard
2. Philine Nau
Non-voting members: Head of College, Student Representative.
Biographies
Elisabeth Rehn (Finland) served as the Patron of the UWC-IBO Initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association “Education from Conflict to Internationalism” which was responsible for the Initiative. She was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Republic of Croatia, FRY, Bosnia and Herzegovina and FYROM (1995–1998), and the United Nations Under-Secretary General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998–1999). Mrs Rehn was the first female Minister of Defence in Finland, and in Europe. She possesses an extensive knowledge of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
Lamija Tanović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the UWC-IBO Initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina since its establishment in May 2005. She was the Head of the International Department for Education and Culture at the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2001-2004) and BiH Ambassador to Denmark (1994-2001). Professor Tanović currently lectures in Physics at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology.
Pilvi Torsti (Finland) serves as an MP in the Finnish national parliament, and is Adjunct Professor of Political History at the University of Helsinki. She has served in the Helsinki City Government (2012-2017) and the Helsinki City Council (since 2012). Doctor Torsti was appointed the State Secretary for the Minister of Education (2013-2015) and a Special Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Employment and Economy (2011-2013). Before serving in the government she worked as a Research Director and Programme Director in a post-war educational project, being also one of the founders of the United World College in Mostar. Doctor Torsti has worked as a journalist and authored several academic and general interest books, and has been honored for her work towards peace. She is a UWC graduate (AD 1995) and an Eisenhower Fellow 2013.
Jasminka Bratić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is the former secretary of the Faculty of Economics of the University "Džemal Bijedić" in Mostar and the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Local Self-Government of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (Mostar). She has extensive professional experience in the legal system of BiH, as well as a long period of volunteer work in the educational system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mrs. Bratić firmly believes that education is key to building peace, and that the principle of unity of diversity is the foundation of human existence, which motivates her involvement in educational initiatives, and especially within the UWC movement. She enthusiastically supported the opening of UWC Mostar, while she was the Chair of the School Board of Gimnazija Mostar, a position she remains in for the 2022-2026 term. She was the Chair of the School Board of the College in Mostar for three terms (2011-2023), and since September 2023 she is the deputy Chair of the School Board.
Ivan Lorenčič (Slovenia) is retired Headmaster of the 2nd Gymnasium Maribor, Slovenia (an IB school since 1990). He was the Director of the National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (1993-2000) and was responsible for curriculum development and implementation, teacher training, implementation of national external examinations and the reform of primary and secondary education. He has also been leading the Centre for the Professional Development of Teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2005.
Sandra Ann Thomas (United Kingdom) has 35 years of classroom experience, as a teacher of IB English, and A-level English Literature. At the United World College of the Adriatic (1995-2009) she worked as an English teacher, Head of Department and as Deputy Head (1997-2009), with responsibility for all aspects of the academic programme, pastoral care and university counselling. At UWC Adriatic, Mrs Thomas shared a residence with students for fourteen years. Her extensive experience includes participation in UWC student selections, IB examinations, and UWC audits.
Fleur Meijs (The Netherlands) serves as a Permanent Proxy for the Chair of the UWC Mostar College Board and is also a member of the UWC International Board. As a partner at PwC in the City of London, she specialised in significant and complex audit and advisory projects with financial institutions in the City. She also served as a member of the Dutch Parliamentary Committee in respect of the Structure of Dutch Banks following the credit crisis. Mrs Meijs left PwC to become a non-executive director and to dedicate more time to charity work. She works as a non-executive director for Fidelity European Trust plc and Ruffer LLP, and served as a director for Invesco Asia Trust plc. In her efforts to give back to society she has also worked for the children’s development organization Plan International in West Africa, as a trustee of the British Museum Friends, and has set up with her husband the endowment for UWC Mostar, Bridge to the Future.
Andrew Bennett worked at UWCSEA in Singapore (1981-2004), the final 11 years as Head of College. He has also served as the Chair of the UWC Heads Committee. From 2006 to 2015, Mr Bennett was employed by St Joseph's Institution in Singapore, initially as the founding Principal of SJI International and later as CEO and adviser. He is retired and living in the UK.
Mirna (Jancic) Doyle (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as the Development Director of UWC Mostar when the college was established in 2006. She has worked as an advisor and project manager for the European Union Special Representative in BiH, as an education researcher-consultant for international and non-governmental organizations in the country, and as a journalist/editor for iwpr.net. Mirna’s diverse professional portfolio includes visual art, through which she explored the teaching of competing historical narratives at Bosnian schools - exhibited in 2023 at the History Museum of BiH.
Judy Peritz Wynne (UK) is a parent member of the College Board. Judy is currently working as Interim Head of International Sales at Firefly Learning, London and before that she has been Head of Marketing, EMEA at 3P Learning Ltd. Her extensive international work experience also include positions in the USA and Israel and the main focus of her career has been working in companies that wanted to impact students’ learning and in terms of enabling personalised learning routes and as well as access to quality educational content. Judy holds a Master's degree in Education from Trenton State College and is skilled and comfortable in multilingual and multicultural audiences across geographies.
Anja Weiss (Germany) is trained in law and education management. After starting her career in an international law firm she now works as an educational consultant advising both private and public institutions and organisations on governance and policy topics in the UK and in Germany. For over 15 years she held various roles within UWC, both in Germany and for UWC International. She is an UWC alumna.
Ruijie Jerry Huang, (China), UWC Mostar ’18, Harvard University ’20, founder and CEO of CarbonSense Technologies.
Damir Čobo, born on July 19th, 1994 Dado comes from Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he started to perform in theaters at the age of 12 in order to escape and oppose the Bosnian segregation politics. He has a BA in Drama (acting/directing) from Bennington College, USA. While studying, he worked on performing arts projects and workshops as an actor, dancer, director, choreographer, and a lighting designer. During his time at Bennington Dado joined Theatre Without Borders where he's remained active since. After his graduation he moved to NYC where he continued to follow the light and create. He had learned from and collaborated with wonderful people and inspiring artists such as Jim Houghton, Tina Landau, Charles Mee, Tuce Yasak, Daria Fain, Marjani Forte, and many others. In 2018 he returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he started working as an IB Theatre Arts teacher, at United World College in Mostar. He has since been part of many projects in various capacities. He worked on a movie by Jasmila Žbanić, Quo Vadis Aida, where he took on the role of an art department assistant and an art director assistant. He has acted in plays at the National Theater Sarajevo and Croatian National Theater in Mostar, working with directors from the region - Diego de Brea, Mirjana Medojević, Selma Spahić, Ivica Buljan, Ivan Leo Lemo, and others. Dado has been a collaborator and a mentor on recurring Erasmus+ "BITI" exchanges in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He is currently finishing up his Master's Degree in Acting, at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo.
Rob Hilliard (Australia) has worked in residential schools in the UK, India (UWC), Australia and currently in Austria. After completing his MPhil in Educational Research at Cambridge, he spent six years in the British Army. Beyond the classroom, Mr Hilliard has run large outdoor education and leadership programmes and facilitated trips around the world.
Philine Nau is an independent Mediator specialising in workplace and community mediation and mostly working with international organisations such as the OECD, UNICEF and the International Criminal Court. She is a former staff member of UWC International where she was responsible for coordinating safeguarding and mental health support efforts across UWC schools and colleges. Philine has also worked in conflict resolution for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Côte d'Ivoire and the International Chamber of Commerce’s Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Paris. She was drawn to UWC and UWC Mostar in particular because of its work in proactively promoting peace and preventing conflict by fostering intercultural understanding among young people from diverse backgrounds.
