Climate

Truth

Crisis
menu

Student Activity at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo

Published

December 14, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Partners

The second Student Activity of the Climate Truth Crisis collaboration took place from 10 to 14 November 2025 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo. The activity was organised by the Academy of Fine Arts, Sarajevo, and brought together students and teachers from partner institutions in Tallinn, Barcelona, Reykjavik, The Hague, London, Vilnius, and Sarajevo. Participants were supported by experts in visual communication, investigative journalism, environmental science, digital marketing, and environmental justice, representing both academic institutions and regional NGOs.

The Sarajevo activity focused on identifying, exposing, and visually communicating climate-related fake news. Through lectures and collaborative workshops, students explored how climate misinformation is constructed, disseminated, and legitimised, and how visual communication can both reinforce and challenge these narratives. Working in mixed international groups, students analysed concrete examples of misleading environmental information and developed visual responses that translate critical research into accessible and educational visual formats, highlighting the responsibility of designers within contemporary climate communication.

Emir Zulejhić Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Anatomy of Climate Disinformation
This lecture will enable participants to understand where and why (climate) disinformation comes from, and how anti-climate narratives are built and spread in the Western Balkans. They will gain insight into the trends and the ecosystem ofclimate disinformation through findings of a regional study on climate disinformation in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, published in July 2025.

Emir Zulejhić is a Program Coordinator of the disinformation debunking program at Citizens Association ‘Why not’ in Sarajevo. His main professional focus is information integrity, media and digital literacy, as well as accountability of themedia and big tech platforms. He is one of the co-founders of Raskrinkavanje.ba, a Bosnia-based media and disinformation fact-checking platform. He started as a researcher in 2017 when the platform was established, then in 2018 moved to the editor role which he held for 5 years. Since 2023, he has been coordinating the work of the platform and all other related projects within the disinformation debunking program. Parallel to developing Raskrinkavanje.ba locally, he was also involvedin the establishment of the regional fact- checking network SeeCheck, where he is currently Deputy Steering Committeemember. Besides his management role, he is also part of the Editorial board of the SeeCheck website. He authored and co-authored many research papers, including the recent regional paper on climate disinformation in BiH, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia.

Bojan Hadžihalilović Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Propaganda and Design in Times of Crisis
This lecture examines the complex relationship between design and propaganda, particularly during moments of crisis, war, and social upheaval. Throughout history, posters, symbols, and mass-media visuals have been used to inform, persuade,inspire, and at times manipulate public perception. By analyzing key examples, we uncover how recurring visualstrategies and persuasive codes reappear across different historical periods — only the technologies change. Thesession encourages participants to critically recognize emotional manipulation, misinformation, and hidden agendas in design. The ultimate goal is not merely to understand history, but to sharpen our perception as designers and visual citizensin the contemporary media landscape.

Bojan Hadžihalilović, Professor of Visual Communication at the Academy of Fine Arts (ALU) in Sarajevo, is a Sarajevo-based graphic designer and creative director. He founded the design studio TRIO Sarajevo in 1985, which created album covers, daily newspapers and magazines, theatre and film posters, books, and other visual materials. Later, Studio TRIO established the agency Fabrika, which has grown into one of the largest design and marketing agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His work has received multiple awards and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Bojan Hadžihalilović teaches at the Department of Graphic Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and also lectures on Visual Communication at the Academy of Performing Arts. The works of TRIO and Fabrika have been featured in numerous international magazines, including Graphis, Print, How, Step Inside Design, Life, Newsweek, The Face,Creative Review, Art Press, Flash Art, as well as in books such as Anatomy of Design, Innovative Promotions at Work, The Design of Dissent, Graphic Agitation II, Evil Doesn’t Live Here, Political Posters in Central and Eastern Europe 45–95, and Boundless Borders.

Amer Mržljak Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Visual Communication: How design can shape understanding, trust, and action on climate crisis
Visual communication plays a crucial role in describing and understanding climate crisis. Because climate processes are complex, global, and often invisible to the human eye, visuals help transform abstract scientific data into clear, reliableinformation. In an era of widespread misinformation, accurate and well-designed visuals are essential tools for clarifyingfacts and countering misleading narratives. Effective visual storytelling not only informs but also motivates behavioral and policychanges by making the consequences of inaction visible and immediate.

Amer Mržljak was born in 1973 in Sarajevo. He graduated from the Department of Graphic Design at the Academy of FineArts in Sarajevo and earned his master’s degree in the same department in 2016. Since 2019, he has been engaged at the Academy of Fine Arts, currently holding the position of an Associate Professor. He has worked as an art director withincreative teams at Design Trio Sarajevo and the marketing agency Fabrika. Throughout his professional career, he has beeninvolved in numerous socially engaged, cultural, and commercial projects, contributing to the creation of various publications. He has particularly been active in the field of advertising, participating in the making of numerous campaigns for both domestic and international clients. Amer Mržljak has received several domestic and international awards andrecognitions. He is the author of five solo exhibitions and has participated in several group exhibitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Japan. His works have been published in variousinternational magazines specializing in visual communications and arts, including “Print Magazine,” “How Magazine,” “Step Inside Design Magazine,” as well as publications such as “Innovative Promotions that Work” and “Anatomy of Design:Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design.”

Jelena Kalinić Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

The Climate of Deception: Truth, Art, and the Battle Against Climate Disinformation
This 45-minute lecture explores how fake news and misinformation shape public understanding of climate change — andhow artists, journalists, and scientists can push back. Students will learn key scientific facts about climate change, howdenial campaigns manipulate data and emotion, and why visual communication matters in building trust. The session alsointroduces the basics of investigative journalism in environmental topics: fact-checking, source verification, and storytelling.Through real-world examples and visual analysis of data sets, students will reflect on how art and media can either distort or illuminate the climate crisis.

Jelena Kalinić is a biologist, science journalist, and science communicator, as well as the founder of the association Nauka i svijet (‘Science and the World’) and the website naukagovori.ba, through which she has for years been promoting scientific literacy and critical thinking in society. She holds a degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature. Her work is dedicated to exposing misinformation, particularly in the field of science, and to exploring the role and importanceof science and scientific literacy for democratic processes and society as a whole. Her communication is clear, evidence-based, and aimed at connecting science with people’s everyday experiences.

Mehmed Cero Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s climate change policy, a State and Perspective
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s climate change policy focuses on adaptation and low- emission development, supported by international partnerships like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the GreenClimate Fund. Key elements include the submission of a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in 2022, updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and a strategy for 2020–2030that aligns with EU policies. The country is also working on strengthening its climate governance and data systems to better inform decision-makers (B&H national and subnational governments).

Dr. Mehmed Cero is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Studies, University of Sarajevo. Since 2006, he has served as Assistant Minister in the Environment Sector at the Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism inSarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His professional responsibilities include issues of resource exploitation, especially biological and ecological resources; conservation and protection of biological diversity; climate change; and theprotection of soil and water. He coordinates the development and preparation of expert bases for the creation and amendmentof legal and sub-legal acts in the field of environment, as well as other tasks assigned by the ministers. Dr. Cero has alsorepresented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the international level. From 1998 to 2024, he has been the Bosnia andHerzegovina national representative (NFP – National Focal Point) in the European Environment Agency inCopenhagen. Since 2003, he has also served as the Bosnia and Herzegovina national representative (NFP – NationalFocal Point) for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD). Through his academic and professional work, Dr.Cero continuously contributes to the development of environmental policies and the strengthening of institutional frameworksin the field of environmental protection and sustainable development.

Peter Hall Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Introduction to FLICC
Social scientists have been using diagrams and iconography to organise forms of climate denialism and greenwashing: howdo these visual systems work and how might they be further developed?

Dr. Peter A Hall is a design writer and educator whose research focuses on mapping and visualization as critical and participatory practices. His recent book Critical Visualization (Bloomsbury Academic 2022), co-written with Patricio Dávila, sets out a critical framework for understanding and making data visualization. Previous works include the book Else/Where: Mapping – New Cartographies of Networks and Territories (edited with Janet Abrams, University of Minnesota 2006) and book chapters on generative design criticism, uses of failure, and mapping as a process. Dr Hall is Reader in GraphicDesign at CCW, University of the Arts London, where he supervises PhD students and teaches on MA Global Collaborative Design Practice in collaboration with Kyoto Institute of Technology. He is the UAL lead on Climate Truth Crisis, a EU-fundedKA2 Cooperation Partnership Project exploring how visual communication design can respond to the problem of climate disinformation. He previously held academic positions at Central Saint Martins (2015-2021), Griffith University Queensland College of Art in Australia (2012-15), the University of Texas at Austin, USA (2007-12), and Yale School of Art, USA (2000-2007). He is co-founder of DesignInquiry, a non-profit educational organization devoted to researching design issues in intensive team-based gatherings, based in Maine, USA.

Zlatko Ganić Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

AI – In the Prompt
Explores how artificial intelligence tools transform the creative process in communication, marketing, and design. Through real-world examples from agency practice, the lecture demonstrates how prompt engineering – defining role, context, command, and format – turns users into experts capable of shaping complex outputs across media. From generating adcopy and visuals with ChatGPT and DALL·E to crafting cinematic imagery in Midjourney or video concepts in Runway, the presentation shows how creativity and technology merge into a new workflow. The talk also introduces advanced tools suchas Perplexity AI for research, Sintra AI for automated team support, and Botpress for AI agents, illustrating a future where human intuition meets machine precision. The goal is to demystify prompts – not as mere instructions, but as a new creative language that bridges ideas, tools, and imagination.

Zlatko Ganić – FABRIKA – Digital Media Director and experienced strategist with 16 years of expertise in the advertisingindustry. Skilled in digital display, Facebook & Instagram, and Google advertising, with a comprehensive understandingfrom theory to practical implementation. Recognized as a successful Digital Media Trainer, delivering training programson various platforms. Proven track record as a lecturer at prestigious institutions, including LSPR (London School of PR), Employer Branding in Sarajevo and Belgrade, and Sarajevo’s Content Academy. A trusted Digital Communicationconsultant for reputable organizations such as British Council, IOM and Internews, focusing on digital media transformation.Nowadays lecturer/professor at:
•  LSPR (London School of PR – Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje)
•  Employer Branding in Sarajevo and Belgrade
•  Sarajevo’s Content Academy
•  Burch University
•  AI Academy Belgrade

Kasja Jerlagić & Azra Berbić Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Winding rivers, twisting facts: Fake narratives in Bosnia’s environmental struggles
As BiH faces mounting pressure from foreign (and domestic) resource extraction, a large part of our work becomesdemystifying the subtle investor and government narrative tactics used to misinform and pacify the populace about the very realdangers facing our environment. Drawing on our experience fighting alongside activists for climate justice, we’ll be giving ashort introduction into the state of ecological struggle in BiH and present some of the most pervasive fake narrativesoffered by the pro investor acters in response to questions, concerns, and issues with the “greenness” of the Green transition. Demystification requires staying informed, thinking critically, and a dash of playfulness.

Kasja Jerlagić is a multidisciplinary artist from Sarajevo. She’s worked at several local galleries, founded and led the artist-activist collective ODRON (2018–2022), organizing events at the intersection of art, culture and politics. Her artisticoutput is eclectic, but the main throughline is the desire for political action, articulating emotional truths and questioning ourplace in a system that is hostile to humanity. In her free time she ignores the boundaries between activism and art. She likesto consider herself a propagandist of a utopia that doesn’t exist yet.

Azra Berbić is a long-time activist, lawyer and researcher. Her activism in the last ten years is focused on human rights, environmental protection, peacebuilding, and dealing with the past. She is an activist of the Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation – ACT and the Youth Center KVART from Prijedor. Azra is guided in her work by the values of solidarity, tolerance, courage, responsibility and unity.

 

Srdja Hrisafovic Lecture

Published

December 21, 2025

Categories

Material Types

Glossary

Sarajevo throughout history from an architectural point of view
Sarajevo has always been an important crossroads of different cultures. Since ancient times, it has acted as a passage for the peoples of Greece and Asia Minor who migrated to the Midwest of Europe and as a link between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Thanks to its geographical location, it was influenced by a large number of different cultures and civilizations that gathered, fought against each other, and then mixed and stayed together on this same land. The lecture will explore the current state of the environment and how architecture affects today’s pollution in the city.

Professor Srdja Hrisafovic is an architect and educator whose research focuses on sustainable design and lighting. He has over 30 years of experience working as an architect, lighting designer, teaching and applied research. Authored/co-authored over 40 architectural and lighting design projects published over 30 peer-reviewed publications; articles, chapters and conference papers. Advising local government on matters of lighting and environment policy. Teaching lighting and design at number of universities thought Europe, USA and New Zealand. Currently he is the Academy of Fine Arts, Sarajevo lead onClimate Truth Crisis, a EU-funded Project exploring how visual communication design can respond to the problem of climate disinformation.

This project is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership Project
© Climate Truth Crisis 2026 • Site by Rectangle