Udruzenje za prevenciju ovisnosti NARKO-NE

Association for addiction prevention NARKO-NE has headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2002 we have been implementing a variety of youth projects across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our name NARKO-NE is unusual for many people, but for us it is a synonym for the prevention. Prevention itself is not easy to define nor describe. It doesn't simply imply the prevention of drug misuse, but identification of risks and tendencies to risky behavior in every sphere of life. For this purpose, the NARKO-NE follows different work models and concepts. For the majority of people, the first mention of the NARKO-NE implies an association to former and/or recovering addicts, creating prejudice. Having said that, if you were to mention our name to some of our volunteers and staff, they will have a completely different image in their heads. They will imagine or recall moments of laughter, spending time in nature, games with pen and paper, sharing dreams and desires, and the feeling of belonging in a group where every individual is equally important and special. The very philosophy of NARKO-NE is inspired by the Eckhard Schiffer book "Why Huckleberry Finn did not become addicted'" where the author argues that addiction in its various forms can be avoided if the world of children and young people is saved from destruction. This can be achieved if children and young people in the world have the opportunity to develop their creative power. This Schiffer thesis and the so-called salutogenic model were used in all NARKO-NE projects. Inspired by these ideas, our volunteers, participants, their parents, and teachers developed the Guiding star of our organization. To be precise, a Guiding star is the application of Salutogenesis model developed by Aaron Antonovsky (1993). This model demonstrates all protective factors that keep us away from addiction. The star also guides us through all our projects of universal and selective prevention. Universal prevention is aimed at all children and young people, as well as their social environment (our projects in the frame of the universal prevention program called "Signposts to healthier society" are Intercity Theater Project, Preventeen Magazine, Intercultural Creative Weeks). These projects aim to include every young person who wants to spend free time in constructive way and use non-formal education as a platform for creative expression. Selective prevention is prevention intended for children and youth at risk of social exclusion (our projects in the frame of selective prevention are our mentoring projects Older brother/Older sister, Educational work with children at risk/Let's give them time instead of money, and Study skills workshops). These projects aim to include children and young people who need additional support for school tasks or who require additional support in improvement of their social and emotional skills. NARKO-NE educates and supports high school and university students from across the country to help reduce the risk of addiction through volunteer engagement and to promote healthy lifestyle in their communities. Through non-formal education programs, NARKO-NE educates their associates from the partner government and non-governmental organizations that support and monitor the work of volunteers. In short, we promote volunteering engagement as a tool for constructive use of the leisure time, as well as a tool for development and improvement of soft skills while at the same time contributing to the needs of the local communities. Our mission is to create and develop volunteering projects for the strengthening and healthy development of children and young people, and we aim to promote and strengthen the capacities of professionals to work successfully in the filed of addiction prevention and health promotion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Every year, we implement up to 10 projects of primary - universal and selective prevention of addiction - which include up to 180 volunteers, high sc