ABOUT US

The Bosniak Institute – Adil Zulfikarpašić Foundation is a modern institution with the status of a waqf (endowment). It contributes to the development and promotion of Bosniak and Bosnian-Herzegovinian science and culture, both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and globally. The Institute offers its users and visitors a unique "walk" through the cultural history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a rich and rare collection of bibliographic, archival, and artistic materials, various cultural events, and opportunities for scientific research.

Founded in 1988 in Zurich, the Institute emerged as a result of half a century of work by Adil-bey Zulfikarpašić and his wife Tatjana Zulfikarpašić in collecting, classifying, and systematizing diverse materials related to Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly historical, literary, journalistic, manuscript, archival-documentary, artistic, and folkloric treasures. The primary motivation for its establishment was the preservation of the integrity and independence of the Bosniaks, their culture, religion, and language, with full respect for those values in other nations.

From its inception, the Bosniak Institute has aimed to be a center for the development of civic culture and values among Bosniaks. It is a place open to others and the different, an institution that explores the past while also guiding the future.

The fundamental goals of the Bosniak Institute are to promote the cultural heritage, historical truth, and culture of the Bosniaks, as well as other peoples with whom the Bosniaks have lived for centuries. Among the most important activities of the Institute are conducting scientific research in cooperation with related institutions both domestically and abroad, maintaining and developing a professionally managed library and archive, organizing cultural events, scientific seminars, meetings, exhibitions, promotions, and similar events, as well as publishing activities—publishing books, brochures, and periodicals.

At the beginning of 2001, the main collections of the Bosniak Institute were transferred from Zurich to a newly built, modernly equipped building in Sarajevo, fulfilling the long-standing wish of its founder to relocate the Institute to Bosnia and Herzegovina.