Presentation of the book Dar by Ines Kavalec

On Monday, September 28, 2026, at the Central Library, Ines Kavalec will present her book Dar. The presentation, including an interactive discussion, begins at 5:30 p.m., and everyone interested is welcome.

Dar is an autobiographical book that offers an emotional testimony of a mother’s love, the life of her son Denis, a person with developmental difficulties, and the life she shared with him while fighting for his health and life. It is also a story about finding the strength to discover meaning and continue the struggle after a profound loss. The book bears witness to the possibility of transforming grief into meaning through love as the most powerful driving force.

Ines Kavalec is a prominent Bosnian-Herzegovinian human rights activist, educator, and the founder and director of the Dajte nam šansu Association in Sarajevo. She is a psychotherapy counsellor through mentorship and actively works with the media and government institutions to ensure better inclusion and systematic funding of social services for marginalized groups. Through her many years of work, she has fundamentally changed society’s perception and institutional approach toward children and people with developmental difficulties, as well as their families in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She founded the Dajte nam šansu Association, inspired by her own life experience as the mother of Denis, a boy born with developmental difficulties. Through the association, a support system has been established for hundreds of families facing similar challenges. Furthermore, after many years of advocacy, thanks to her efforts, the modern “Denis” Day Centre was opened in Sarajevo in mid-2025 for children and people with developmental difficulties.

She was also the initiator and a key driving force behind the campaign to secure legal recognition of the status of parent-caregivers in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby providing families with systematic financial and social security.