In my life, my faith has always played an important role.  As a youth my faith led me to enroll in a madrassa in Sarajevo to become an imam (a Muslim religious leader) – at the time, living in communist Yugoslavia, this was a counter-cultural decision.  Later, as a 16 year old refugee in Slovenia, may faith gave me the strength to take on a leadership role in my community and care for people more than twice my age.  Today, my faith helps me meet the many daily challenges I face as a peacebuilder in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). 

But, beyond its positive role in my personal life, religion has an important role to play in peacebuilding in BiH.  In a country noted for its corrupt politicians and a stagnant economy, BiH citizens are noticeably distrustful of Bosnian institutions – with the notable exception of religious institutions.  While, according to a 2008 Gallup Poll, Bosnian citizens are highly distrustful of institutions like courts, media, government and political parties, they express a high degree of trust of religious institutions.  Similarly, according to the same study, 76.5 percent of Bosnians claim that religion is “an important part of their daily lives.” In this context divisive rhetoric from a priest or an imam can pull communities apart, while a conciliatory message can go a long ways bring people together and promote tolerance between BiH’s different ethnic and religious groups.

From 28 May to June 3, 2011 we held our 8^th annual Peace Camp.  This year the camp was made up of 18 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) representing Bosnia’s many different ethnic and religious groups, while three additional international participants came from the United States, Sweden and France. 

Peace Camp provides a unique safe place in an otherwise segregated society for Bosnian youth from different ethnic and religious backgrounds to come together, breakdown prejudice and stereotypes that they hold about one another, and build lasting, supportive relationships that cross religious and ethnic divides.  Over the course of the six day camp participants have the opportunity to formally learn about other religious and ethnic traditions and engage issues related to identity, shared fears and needs, conflict, and trauma.  At the same time, all participants practice workshop facilitation and develop concrete skills in nonviolent communication and conflict transformation in order to be better able to promote peace and reconciliation in their home communities.

At the end of June a group of young American students visited Sanski Most. They were part of the Global Youth Connect (GYC) Delegation that CIM hosted in Sanski Most from 24th to 29^th of June.  This is the 6th year in a row that CIM has hosted the GYC delegation. 

GYC is a human rights training program that focuses specifically on the roots of conflict and the dynamics of justice, reconciliation, and peace building as experienced in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) more than fifteen years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. In particular, the goal of the program is for participants to gain experience in conflict resolution and transformation, while deepening their understanding of the post-conflict challenges faced by Bosnians today, especially young people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. The Bosnia GYC program takes place every year for three weeks during the summer. In addition to a week in Sanski Most, participants spend time in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Srebrenica the 11^th of July, engaging key NGOs, Civil Society actors and political leaders.

On Friday 10 June 2011 at 18:00 in the Sanski Most Town Hall, the Center for Peacebuilding (CIM) and the Center for Noviolent Action (CNA) will hold a present the book Pictures from Those Times: Life Stories of War Veterans and Members of Their Families (Editors: Helena Rill and Tamara Šmidling).  The book is made up of 14 stories that include both women's and men's experiences of war.

This is an opportunity to get to know the work of CNA in the field of peacebuilding, conflict transformation and dealing with the past in the former Yugoslavia.  Several hundred people are included in CNA's programs through various trainings and workshops that raise awareness that peace is not merely the absence of war, but rather an active lifestyle based on nonviolence and ongoing learning.

The book promoters will be: the book's editor Tamara Šmidling, interviewer Amer Delić, prof. Aiša Hadžiahmetović, and passages from the book will be read by Edina Travnljanin.  The moderator to the event will be Vahidin Omanović, Director of CIM, the organization that will host this event.

The CIM Team is proud to introduce CIM's second European Voluntary Service (EVS) volunteer - Maxime Decaens from France.

Maxime arrived two months ago, on 4 May, and, so far, Maxime seems to be handling the change from a busy Parisian suburb to a small Bosnian town quite well.

Maxime is French and hails from the Bordeaux region but has lived around Paris for the majority of his life. Most recently he’s lived in Montreuil, the third most populous suburb in the Paris metropolitan area, and he’s been studying in Paris for the last couple of years. He is educated in Law and Political Science and has knowledge in International Relations with a focus on international solidarity and cooperation.

We are happy to offer our congratulations to CIM's Director, Vahidin Omanović, who is the recipient of the 5th Interantional Bremen Peace Award.  Omanović will receive the prize for Unknown Peace Worker for his work promoting reconiciliation between Bosnia's different ethnic and religious groups - Catholic Croatian Bosnians, Orthodox Serbian Bosnians, Muslim Bosnians and others - and helping victims of war overcome trauma.

The International Bremen Peace Awards have been awarded every year since 2003.  In 2011, those giving the award had to choose three winners from 90 nominations from throughout the world.  Other winners in 2011 were Shreen Abdul Saroor from Sri Lanka - who received the prize for Public Engagement for Peace and Justice - and the cultural "District Project OTe: you always have a choice" - which received the award for Exemplary Organization.

You can read more about the International Bremen Peace Award here.

Well folks, Jonas and Matt managed to cross the finish line of Sunday's 24th annual Belgrade Marathon generally safe and sound, despite a few blisters, exhausted legs and some wicked farmers' tan!  They certainly weren't the fast on the course (4:33:25 and 4:25:03 respectively), but both were happy to finish well before the 6 hour time limit.

For the time being, Jonas and Matt are content to get off their feet and rest and recover, while Jonas is hoping that his right pinky toe soon returns to its normal color.

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In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), everyday realities are bleak for youth.  Employment opportunities are rare, and few chances exist for volunteerism and social engagement.  But, in this context, where youth are often voiceless, CIM provides an empowering space where local youth can work for positive social change. 

Through CIM volunteer club youth are able to engage in a variety of meaningful activities including – nonviolent conflict resolution workshops, youth led volunteer projects, free foreign language classes, and educational field trips to notable sites in the region.

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While much physical rebuilding has occurred since war struck BiH from 1992-1995, much work needs to be done to repair social relationships that were damaged by war.  To address these needs CIM reaches out to local schools which are marked by high rates of physical and psychological violence.  Each month, CIM conducts nonviolent communication and conflict resolution workshops in two schools in Sanski Most, Mahala and Prva Sanska. Through exercises kids develop tolerance for individuals from different backgrounds and learn how to respond to conflict in constructive, nonviolent ways. This is a pilot project at the two above-mentioned schools, something we wish to expand during the coming years.

From 24-25 March, CIM hosted a School for International Training (SIT) Study Abroad group. The SIT Balkans program brings together students studying in United States universities and gives them the opportunity to examine collective memory, reconciliation, identity, human rights activism and other topics relevant to peacebuilding in the Balkans. Each semester, in addition to visiting various organizations in Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the group spends time in Sanski Most to learn about CIM's peacebuilding initiatives. 

This semester CIM staff introduced SIT students to Sanski Most history and culture and the details of CIM's peacebuilding work in this setting.  The students also had the opportunity to interact with CIM's local youth volunteer club during a film viewing of "Na Putu."

Follow this link if you'd like to learn more about the SIT Balkan program.

At this time of year, when I find a few moments to spend at my house in my home village Hrustovo, I’m keenly aware of transformation – winter slowly yields to spring and the world is reborn before my eyes.  Sun drives away winter’s overcast skies, and the bleak earth of my garden gives way to bright, vibrant flowers.  Trees are no longer naked as their once ragged branches are softened by green buds and birds who, chirping, merrily welcome a new day every morning. 

As I witness the renewal around me, my thoughts are drawn to our upcoming Peace Camp (29 May – 3 June).  Each year the lives of a multi-ethnic group of 20 odd Bosnian youth are transformed as they come together for a week’s time to deal with the past and confront the ethno-nationalist ideology that divides them.  It’s a rare opportunity in a sharply divided society – an opportunity that renews, revitalizes and rebirths all those who take part.

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