Ziyah Gafic appointed as Regional Director Balkans

VII Academy is pleased to announce the appointment of Ziyah Gafic as Regional Director Balkans. Ziyah brings a wealth of creative experience to this role that will be crucial in the further development of the successful Academy activities based out of Sarajevo.

CEO of VII Academy Gary Knight welcomed Ziyah into the new role.

“Ziyah is a revered and influential cultural figure in Bosnia and the Balkans. His photography has significantly impacted regional dialogues on transitional justice and identity, and has established him as one of the world’s leading photo documentarians,” says Gary. “Ziyah’s work as a curator with museums and regional institutions has made an essential contribution to how the complex politics of former Yugoslavia are discussed. His initiative to create a training program and story platform in collaboration with the International Office of Migration for refugees seeking to tell their own stories has significantly impacted the way marginalized refugee communities are represented. We are excited to appoint him as our Regional Director.”

“I’m very excited to have been offered the opportunity to spearhead Academy’s effort in our regional expansion,” commented Ziyah. “Bosnia and the wider Balkan region have a particular significance within VII ecosystem and I feel confident that I can make a significant contribution to our efforts.”

Ziyah will be joining Manager of Operations Hasnija Zulic and Associate Producer Ajdin Kapidzic in our Sarajevo regional headquarters on the first of December 2021. He will be responsible for building a strong program across the region, developing a platform and community that can build and support the success of VII Academy’s projects and students.

VII Academy has been created to democratize visual-based storytelling. We seek to amplify the voices of hitherto underrepresented communities, by offering tuition-free training to young men and women from non-G20 countries, and from marginalized communities in the G20. We will train them as future practitioners, teachers, and trainers in journalism and media practice.

VII Academy is a project of The VII Foundation and is funded by The VII Foundation.