"Growing up in Bosnia-Herzegovina"©
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The overall objective of the proposed project is to contribute to community development and post-war healing in local communities by recognizing youth as legitimate participants and by empowering their civic engagement in the development process and emerging democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A group of approximately 20 young people (13-25 years old), from different religious backgrounds (including Bosnian Muslims, Catholics, Jews and Orthodox) will be brought together for a series of workshops. Through discussions on identity, membership, escalation of violence, the case study examples of instances of genocide, alternatives to violent conflict resolution, healing and reconciliation, the Bosnian youth will be given a safe space to voice their needs and the perceptions of their communities and to make essential connections between history and moral choices they themselves confront in their everyday lives. They will also be encouraged to express their individual stories and share their personal histories through various modes of artistic expression: theatre, drawings, story telling, and photography and film. The youth from different religious backgrounds and different communities will learn about each other’s stories and will be challenged to raise awareness about the complex reality of their recent past. They will be invited to work together and reflect on their roles as citizens in the post-war society and will be provided the creative and safe space for healing and bonding.
The project will be coordinated by the Bosnian NGO Wings of Hope: Center for Women and Youth Development, Sarajevo cooperating with Sarajevo high schools and with other critical institutional connections. The project is structured in two stages: (1) staff training and curriculum development; and (2) conducting workshops for a group of 20 to 30 young people including workshops on Facing History and Ourselves and a theatre workshop “Our story” on Healing and Conflict Transformation through the use of theatre and nonviolent communication.
Created and designed by Larisa Kasumagić.
