Governance

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

Jasminka Bratić

Members of the College Board of the UWC Mostar 2019-2023

1. Jasminka Bratić (Chair)

2. Ivan Lorenčič (Deputy Chair)

3. Augusta Campagne

4. Fleur Meijs

5. Mirna Doyle

6. Andrew Bennett

7. Sandra Ann Thomas

8. Sead Filipović

9. Robert Hilliard

10. Darko Gligorovski

11. Judy Peritz Wynne

12. Dara Bonomi (Staff Representative)

13. Jasmina Hodžić (Alumni Representative)

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 Assistant to the Minister of Justice of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (Mostar), and has an extensive professional experience within the legal system of BiH. She enthusiastically supported the opening of the UWC in Mostar, while serving as the Chair of the School Board of Gymnasium Mostar. Mrs Bratic strongly believes in education as being crucial for peace-building, which motivates her involvement in educational initiatives.

Ivan Lorenčič (Slovenia) is currently the 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 Mejis (The Netherlands) serves as a Permanent Proxy for the Chair of the UWC Mostar College 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 (as a non-executive director for Fidelity European Values plc, Invesco Asia Trust plc, and Ruffer LLP). In her efforts to give back to society she has 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 (United Kingdom) 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. He is retired and living in the UK.

Augusta Campagne (Austria, The Netherlands) is the president of the Austrian UWC National Committee and one of Europe’s leading specialists in historical basso continuo performance practice. She is a professor of harpsichord and figured bass at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. She is a UWC alumni.

Mirna Doyle (Bosnia and Herzegovina) served as the Development Director of UWC in Mostar when the college was established in 2006. She is an experienced education policy analyst, advisor and project manager, specialising in education reform and civil society advocacy in BiH. Ms Doyle has worked in this capacity for several organisations in the country, including the European Union Special Representative, the state Agency for Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Open Society Fund in BiH. Ms Doyle is also an experienced writer and editor. She is currently living in The Netherlands.

Sead Filipović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is serving as the Chief Finance Officer at the Secretariat of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in Sarajevo. He holds a degree in Information Technologies and has worked for organisations including the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the International Commission on Missing Persons. He contributed to the development of the first budget of the UWC-IBO Initiative in BiH.

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.

Darko Gligorovski (North Macedonia) teaches Global Politics and Theory of Knowledge at UWC Mostar. He is an UWC alumni (Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong 2008-2010).

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.

Jasmina Hodžić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is an alumni member of the College Board. As a consultant for climate and sustainability at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), she specializes in renewable energy and sustainability consulting. She graduated as the first generation of UWC Mostar, and has gone on to earn degrees in the US, France, Austria and Italy. She is a strong believer in the power of the alumni base to support and advance UWC Mostar's mission.