For more than 25 years, we at Atlantbh believe that progress includes giving back. As we celebrate our important milestone birthday, we want to share the story behind a tradition that brings meaning to our work and our community.
Through PlayITForward, we celebrate our company birthday by Giving Back: building playgrounds and improving learning spaces across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We didn’t plan this initiative, and the first playground happened, let’s say, spontaneously. Seeing the impact on the community, we have decided to turn it into a tradition.
Why Playgrounds?
We believe in long-term impact. Play fuels imagination, imagination sparks learning, and learning builds a better tomorrow. A playground is where kids learn collaboration, confidence, and creativity, simply by playing together.
We wanted to create spaces that bring back the joy of outdoor play and the sense of community that naturally comes with it.
Finding the Right Place for Play
Each year, we search for a location where a playground can truly make a difference.
The ideas often come from Atlanters, our teammates from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina who know their local communities best. They suggest schools or kindergartens, and together, we listen, plan, and build spaces that keep the sound of laughter alive.
Playing Across Bosnia and Herzegovina
It all started in Mostar, where we built a playground at a day-care center that supports children from socially vulnerable families, run by the NGO Altruist with the support of Save the Children. The impact of that first playground stayed with us. It showed us that we don’t need grand gestures to create real change and became the foundation of what is now our birthday tradition.
As our CEO, Jasmin Velić, says:
“Building playgrounds across Bosnia and Herzegovina has become something of a tradition for us at Atlantbh. It’s a small way to support the families and communities we’re part of, and if it brings even a few smiles to kids, we consider that a win.”
Over the years, we’ve built playgrounds in Vareš, Gradačac, and Trnovo, each one a reminder of how meaningful it is when a simple idea brings people together. This year, for our 25th birthday, we took things a step further and built two new playgrounds in Fojnica and Pločari polje, responding to the needs of these two schools for lasting impact.
For us, this project has never been just about donations or building equipment. It’s about the visits, the conversations, the planting of flowers and trees, the murals, the games, the coffee shared with teachers, and the joy of watching a once-empty space turn into a place full of color, play, and connection.
Each playground has brought our people closer to the communities around us. And we’ll keep taking the steps that create meaningful connections and shape the way we work, grow, and give back.
