🌟 Special Award for Creativity! 🌟

Zara Kapetanović, a student whose work was shortlisted in the contest “Little Authors of Big Stories – Stories from a Child’s Heart”, has won a special award as the representative of PI Primary School “Grbavica II”, Sarajevo, which submitted the highest number of works!

In her inspiring letter “Children’s Rights”, Zara sends a message to children in the year 2075 — about a world full of respect, clean air, and equal rights. Her words remind us that the voice of children matters today and in the future.

📖 Read the story and feel the power of a child’s voice!

Dear children of the year 2075,

My name is Zara, and I am writing to you from the year 2025. Today I am twelve years old, and by the time you read this, I will surely be old. I want to tell you why I placed this letter in an old glass bottle and hid it beneath the largest oak tree in the park. I did this because I wanted to make sure that my voice, and the voice of all the children of my generation, would be heard no matter how much time has passed. This is our right: to be listened to.

I want to tell you what kind of world we want to leave for you—a world you deserve, and a world we, your ancestors from 2025, are fighting for. I want the air you breathe not to smell of smog. I want you to see a blue sea full of fish, not plastic. When I was little, every year we talked about “climate change,” but adults were often slow to act. I hope you managed to convince them that our future is more important than profit. I hope that trees and clean air have become more important than big factories.

I want your school to be a place where the most important question is: “What do you want to learn today?” and not: “Will I be accepted?” I want your teachers to believe you when you say you are struggling. And most importantly, I want your school to teach children that differences are a strength, not a reason for division. Because in my time, that was the biggest problem.

Above all, please live in a world where children’s opinions are valued equally to those of adults. Do not let anyone tell you: “You are too young, you don’t understand.” We understand. We see injustice. We want peace. We want to be included in decisions that affect our lives—from what our lunch will be to what our country will look like.

If the world you live in is the one I dreamed of today—full of respect, clean air, and laughter—then we have succeeded. If not, please be even louder than we were. Remember: Your future is not a gift; it is your fundamental right.

With love and hope,

Zara, Your voice from the past (the year 2025)