From December 6th to 8th, 2024, a three-day seminar was held in Sarajevo, bringing together 15 young people from various parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The seminar was organized in cooperation between Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Sarajevo and focused on key topics shaping youth media literacy, ethics, and social responsibility. With Youth for Peace facilitators, participants explored important subjects through interactive workshops and discussions, including media ethics and reporting in electoral processes, media manipulation, the culture of violence, and identifying and combating hate speech.
The goal of the seminar was to empower young people to think critically about media content, develop awareness of ethical standards in media, and learn ways to fight the spread of hatred and violence in the media space. Participants also had the opportunity to learn from leading experts, such as Prof. Dr. Lejla Turčilo, who spoke about the role and impact of media on society, journalist Haris Buljubašić, who engaged participants in discussions on the importance of critical thinking and media content analysis and Daniel Eror, who shared his insights on the role of media in conflicts and peacebuilding.
We express our gratitude to all the participants for their enthusiasm, and to the speakers for their generous sharing of knowledge and experience. Events like these enable young people to develop the skills needed for responsible societal engagement and contribute to building peace.
From November 15 to 17, 2024, Sarajevo hosted a seminar titled “Peace Education for Youth,” organized by Youth for Peace in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Sarajevo. The seminar brought together young people from across Bosnia and Herzegovina to engage in critical discussions on key topics such as the Youth, Peace, and Security agenda, hate speech, freedom of religion or belief, and how peace education can be integrated into school curricula.
During the seminar young people had the opportunity to delve into issues that impact youth today, promoting a deeper understanding of how these challenges can be addressed through education and youth-led initiatives. The workshop sessions were facilitated by Emina Frljak and Azra Mustafić, both experienced facilitators from Youth for Peace, who enriched the discussions with their expertise in peacebuilding and interfaith dialogue.
The seminar’s guest speakers were Fatima Mahmutović, MA (Faculty of Political Science, UNSA), who addressed the significance of peace education in conflict-prone societies, prof. dr Sarina Bakić (Faculty of Political Science, UNSA), who explored the topic of understanding violence and its impact on societies and mag. Melisa Forić Plasto (Faculty of Philosophy, UNSA), who shared valuable insights on dealing with the past and the process of memorialization. Throughout the event, participants engaged in workshops that allowed them to discuss real-life challenges and propose solutions for fostering peace.
“We are pleased to see such strong engagement from the youth and their commitment to building a more peaceful society. The seminar has been an inspiring example of how education can empower young people to become active agents of change,” said Emina Frljak, one of the facilitators. The seminar concluded with a call for continued dialogue and collective action, encouraging participants to use the knowledge and skills gained to positively impact their communities and contribute to a culture of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond.
From 1st to 3rd December 2023, a seminar, "Peace education for young people", was held in Sarajevo in cooperation with Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Fifteen young people who come from cities and towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Žepče, Zenica, Visoko, Kakanj, Mostar, Gračanica, Ugljevik, Pale, Bugojno and Gacko attended the seminar. With the YfP facilitators, they discussed the concept of peace, what it means to create, keep, and build peace, hate speech, memorialization, and dealing with the past in the context of peace education.
The guest lecturers during the second day of the seminar were Prof. Dr. Sarina Bakić from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, who discussed the topic of violence with the participants, and M.Sc. Melisa Forić Plasto, from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, who spoke about the importance of peace education in a world prone to conflicts. On the third day, participants discussed what peace education looks like in practice with Samira Baručija-Homoraš, coordinator of the United Religions Initiative.
The seminar ended with a reflection and evaluation session, where young people had the opportunity to evaluate the sessions, focusing on facilitators, lecturers, and the methods and approaches used during each workshop. In addition, the participants could also suggest which topics interest them and which the organizers should consider when preparing for future educational activities. Youth for Peace wants to shape its work to the needs of its participants. Therefore, the opinions of young people will undoubtedly influence the selection of topics and the way of organizing future educational content.
During the past weekend, from 10-12 November 2023, in Sarajevo, the "Political Education" seminar was held in cooperation with Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Fifteen young people gathered at the seminar, coming from cities and towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Gračanica, Maglaj, Grude, Donji Vakuf, Mostar, Zvornik, Banovići, Bihać, Bugojno, Konjic and Zenica. During the seminar with the Youth for Peace facilitators, participants discussed political literacy, the state of Bosnian-Herzegovinian society, and the challenges that young people face.
Our invitation to be guest lecturers at the seminar was answered by Prof. Dr. Nermina Mujagić and Prof. Dr. Zarije Seizović from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo and Adnan Rondić, a journalist from Al Jazeera Balkans. Prof. Dr. Nermina Mujagić talked with young people about political participation as a form of political responsibility, while Prof. Dr. Zarije Seizović spoke with young people about ethno-political organizing in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a severe and constant threat. Adnan Rondić spoke on the subject of power and the limits of comments and information in the relationship between politics and the media.
The seminar ended with a reflection and evaluation session, where young people could evaluate the sessions, focusing on the facilitators, male and female lecturers, and the methods and approaches used during each workshop. In addition, the participants could also suggest which topics interest them and which the organizers should consider when preparing for future education. Youth for Peace strives to shape its work by the needs of its participants. Therefore, the opinions of young people will undoubtedly influence the selection of topics and the way of organizing future educational content.
The past weekend, from June 9 - 11, 2023, a seminar, "Hate Speech and Hate Crimes," was held in Sarajevo in cooperation with the organization Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The seminar was attended by 15 young people who come from cities and towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as Sarajevo, Čapljina, Novi Travnik, Žepče, Zenica, Visoko, Hadžići, Bugojno, and Banja Luka. During the seminar, the participants discussed hate speech with the Youth for Peace facilitators, how it arises, how it can lead to hate crimes, and how to recognize and identify hate speech and hate crimes. In addition, participants learned how to react to hate speech and influence its reduction.
Our invitation to be guest lecturers at the seminar was answered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amer Osmić from the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Emina Dedić Bukvić from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo, and Senka Kurt, editor of Interview.ba. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amer Osmić talked with young people about hate speech in the process of political campaigns and elections, while Prof. Dr. Emina Dedić Bukvić talked about stereotypes and prejudices as one of the causes of hate speech. Senka Kurt spoke to the participants about hate speech in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian media.
The seminar ended with a reflection and evaluation session, where young people could evaluate the sessions, focusing on facilitators, lecturers, and the methods and approaches used during each workshop. In addition, the participants could also suggest which topics interest them and which the organizers should consider when preparing for future educational activities. Youth for Peace wants to shape its work to the needs of its participants. Therefore, the opinion of young people will undoubtedly influence the selection of topics and the way of organizing future educational activities.
During the past weekend, from 18th to 20th November 2022, a seminar "Political education of young people" was held in Sarajevo in cooperation with the organization Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Sixteen young people, who come from cities and towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina such as Sarajevo, Mostar, Pale, Bihać, Brčko, Zavidovići, Donji Vakuf, Derventa, Tuzla, Gračanica, and Gradačac attended this event. During the seminar, with the Youth for Peace facilitators, participants discussed the topic of political literacy and why it is important to us, analyzed how political campaigns can influence peacebuilding processes, and were rethinking about how to be a responsible citizen in a democratic society.
Our invitation to be guest lecturers at the seminar was answered by assoc. prof. Amer Osmić, Ph.D. and prof. Sarina Bakić, Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, and prof. Emina Dedić-Bukvić, Ph.D. from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. Amer Osmić discussed critical thinking and political literacy with the participants, as well as the results of research on the political involvement of young people, while Emina Dedić-Bukvić spoke about the connection between peace and political education, with reference to the creation of educational policies. Sarina Bakić spoke about the connection between political socialization, culture, and education, using concrete examples from our reality in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The seminar ended with a reflection and evaluation session, where young people had the opportunity to evaluate the sessions, focusing on the facilitators, lecturers, and the methods and approaches used during each of the workshops. In addition, the participants could also suggest which topics are of interest to them and which the organizers should take into account when preparing for future educational activities. Youth for Peace wants to shape its work in accordance with the needs of its participants, therefore the opinion of young people will definitely influence the selection of topics and the way of organizing future educational content.
"Countering hate speech" is the name of the seminar held by Youth for Peace in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from October 28th to 30th in Mostar, where young people from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered. During the seminar, participants had the opportunity to discuss topics that explained what hate speech is and how to recognize it both in plenum and in groups. In addition, they highlighted its presence in the media, with an emphasis on political campaigns. It is very important to mention that they discussed potential ways to prevent political, ethnic, and religious hate speech, and how hate speech can affect mental health. Participants were very open to discussions and sharing their own perspectives on the topic, as well as sharing their own experiences in certain situations. They had a number of questions for speakers and facilitators which made workshops truly interesting.
The chief editor of the Interview.ba portal, Senka Kurt, prof. dr. Elvis Fejzić from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, and prof.dr.sc. Daniela Jurčić from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Mostar were our guest speakers from which participants had the opportunity to learn.
From September 16th to 18th, 2022, a seminar for students entitled "The Importance of the Culture of Remembrance for Building Peace" was held in Banja Luka. The seminar was supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Sarajevo. The theme of the culture of remembrance, and its role in the comprehensive process of peacebuilding, brought together young people from Banja Luka, Prozor-Rama, Visoko, Olovo, Mostar, and Sarajevo. Young people had the opportunity to hear about this very important topic from Bojana Dujković Blagojević (professor of history and member of the EURO CLIO HIP association), Siniša Moretti (coordinator of the PRO-Future project at Caritas of the Banja Luka diocese), and Siniša Sajević (coordinator of the PRO-Future project at Caritas BiH).
Through group and pair work, analyzing videos and photos, the participants learned how the culture of remembrance is nurtured in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in which segments it is necessary and possible to make changes. The participants also, through an interactive walk through the city, had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the monuments through which Banja Luka expresses its culture of remembrance. In addition to the above, during the workshops, they learned about why the culture of remembrance is important for the process of building peace, and a better and more effective dialogue in our country, but also in the rest of the world. Finally, in the discussion and exchange of past experiences, they also learned what is the role of young people in these processes, and why they cannot be effectively led if the knowledge and skills, and opportunities possessed by young people are omitted from the overall perspective.
In the period from 20. to 22.2022. in Sarajevo, Youth for Peace held a seminar for young people in Hotel Hollywood entitled "The Role of the Media in Peacebuilding" in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The seminar was attended by 16 young people from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Mostar, Travnik, Visoko, Cazin, Kiseljak, and other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The main goals of the seminar were to discuss the prevention and reduction of hate speech in the media, as well as to analyze the impact of hate speech on public opinion. In addition to the Youth for Peace facilitators, the sessions were led by external lecturers. Senka Kurt, editor-in-chief of the "Interview. ba" portal, spoke about the importance of media literacy in the time of fast media, doc. dr. Amer Osmić from the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo spoke about why hate speech and violence grow during crises and political campaigns, and prof. dr. sc. Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of East Sarajevo, commented on the topic of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian society in the vicious circle of hate speech - "The other is guilty".
We asked prof. dr. sc. Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović shared her thoughts about the topic as well as the seminar: “At the workshop, the participants shared their experiences and encounters with this negative phenomenon, especially in the online sphere. What is especially valuable for the whole seminar is that the participants are from different spheres of life and disciplines that they are currently studying, which is of crucial importance for the so-called interdisciplinarity of the phenomenon of hate speech which has linguistic, communicative, socio-political, legal and psychological dimensions, which contributed to the exchange of experiences and reflections during the workshop. These and other activities implemented by Youth for Peace are of great importance because it is important for us to step out of the vicious circle of hate speech, to empower and raise the awareness of young people as bearers of positive social change. A group of young people who come from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and who attended the seminar is certainly one such driving force. "
At the seminar, young people also had the opportunity to talk to Šejla Ramović, an influencer/entrepreneur, about the importance and role of an influencer in creating public opinion, and spreading and fighting hate speech. After the workshops, a short evaluation and reflection were completed with the participants on what was done during the previous days, after which a certificate award ceremony was organized.
The seminar "Hate Speech and Hate Crime" was held from December 10th to 12th 2021 at Ibis Styles Hotel in Sarajevo. The seminar was organized and implemented in cooperation between Youth for Peace and Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Sarajevo. Sixteen young people from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the seminar. In addition to the facilitators from the Youth for Peace, young people had the opportunity to actively listen and engage in discussions with prof. Sarina Bakić from the Faculty of Political Sciences, prof. Marija Lučić - Ćatić from the Faculty of Criminology, Criminology and Security Studies, University of Sarajevo, and Mr. Franjo Dragičević, legal advisor at the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the seminar, young people had the opportunity to discuss the characteristics of hate speech, the main sources of hate speech, and the extent to which ethnic and religious hate speech is present in BiH society, as well as the culture of dialogue. "Is freedom of speech absolute", a topic that is very important for establishing a balance between freedom of speech and hate speech was one of the topics presented during the seminar, as well as the topic of legal framework and regulations, and hate crimes. On the last day of the seminar, participants learned how hate speech leads to hate crimes, while at the last session they listened to, actively participated, and gave ideas on how they can prevent the spread of hate speech and hate crimes. After the workshops, a short evaluation and reflection on what was done during the previous days were held with the participants, and the certificates were awarded to all the participants and facilitators.
Seminar Rethinking Peace: Peace Education for Youth was held from 11 to 14 November 2021 at the Hotel Vidović in Banja Luka. The seminar was organized and implemented in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Sarajevo. This educational meeting brought together 14 young people from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo, Mostar, Rama, Visoko, Prnjavor, Srbac, Kalesija, Zavidovići, Derventa, East Sarajevo, and Gračanica. During the seminar, participants had the opportunity to participate in workshops led by facilitators from Youth for Peace and guest lecturers such as Dajana Umićević from Caritas Banja Luka, and Mevludin Rahmanović, one of the founders of the Center for Peacebuilding from Sanski Most.
On the first day of the seminar, an introductory evening session was held, where participants and facilitators had the opportunity to meet through a series of interactive games and exercises. On the second day of the seminar, participants discussed with facilitators the topic of peacebuilding, what it encompasses, how it differs from the peacemaking and peacekeeping process, as well as what peace education is, what it encompasses and how present it is in Bosnian/Herzegovinian formal education system. In the second part of the day, through interactive exercises that rely on experiential learning, the topic of identity was discussed, as well as the topic of dialogue.
The third day of the seminar was dedicated to the topic of stereotypes and prejudices, and how much they are present in our society, how much we are aware of them, and how we can work to reduce them both on a personal and social level. In addition to this topic, the topic of conflict resolution and transformation was discussed. In the afternoon, the topic of narrative construction and deconstruction was on the repertoire, and through a visible example of the Sarajevo assassination, the participants talked with the facilitator about changing this narrative through different regimes, but also about the polarized perception of this event today. The last workshop of the second day was related to the media and their contribution to peace and conflict.
During the last day of the seminar, the topic of the role of religion in peacebuilding and the role of young people in the broad process of peacebuilding was discussed. After the workshops, a short evaluation and reflection on what was done during the previous days were held, and a certificate award ceremony was organized.
Hotel Ibis Styles in Sarajevo was a gathering place for 16 young people from different parts of BiH from October 8 to 10, for the seminar "Political Education" held by the Youth for Peace in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. During the seminar, participants had the opportunity to discuss the topics of political literacy, the development of critical thinking, the role of civil society, and the connection between peace and political education. Our invitation for cooperation at this seminar was accepted by the esteemed doc. dr. Amer Osmić, doc. dr. Sarina Bakić and Jasmin Hasanović from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo.
During the first day of the seminar, participants had the opportunity to listen, learn and discuss topics such as political literacy in the context of BiH, the importance of democratic and political literacy in the development of critical thinking, with special reference to statistical data from the research of doc. dr. Osmic on the political literacy of young people in BiH. In the second part of the day, the participants had the opportunity to talk to the doc. dr. Sarina Bakić on the topic of political socialization, culture, and education, and at the very end of the day discuss ways in which citizens can participate in political processes.
The second day of the seminar began with a workshop by Samira Baručija with the question “Is there a connection between political and peace education"? Through interactive exercises and a conversation with Samira, the participants were able to see if and in what way these two terms are connected. The participants completed the educational part of the two-day seminar with Jasmin Hasanović and the topic of the public-political cycle: phases and actors and the possibilities of civil society action. At the end of the seminar, participants were given certificates for attendance and participation.
The seminar "The Role of the Media in Peacebuilding" was held at Hotel Vidović in Banja Luka from December 11th to 13th, 2020. The seminar is a joint initiative of the Youth for Peace and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The seminar brought together 17 participants - university students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, who, with the facilitation and lectures of university professors, journalists and Youth for Peace facilitators, had the opportunity to discuss the connection between the media and peace building.
On the first day of the seminar, participants got to know each other through interactive, fun, but also educational games with the support of Youth for Peace facilitators, presented their expectations from the seminar, and shared their previous experiences related to the seminar topic. The second day was reserved for a discussion on topic of media literacy and narratives that are present Bosnian-Herzegovinian media. With dr. Vesima Čičkušić participants learnt about media literacy and acquired necessary skills to analyze media contents. Doc. dr. Amer Osmić had an interesting discussion with the participants about the media literacy of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on that occasion presented the results of his research related to this topic. In the afternoon of the second day, dr. Srđan Puhalo gave a lecture on separatist narratives in the BiH media, followed by a discussion on this topic with the participants.
On the third day of the seminar, participants discussed with YfP facilitators the topic of hate speech: what is hate speech actually, how to recognize it and how to fight it. During the workshop, participants were given the opportunity to deconstruct deep-rooted forms of hate speech in our society. Finally, the last workshop was dedicated to discussing how the media can and should participate in peacebuilding processes.
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Youth for Peace, in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, organized a seminar on the topic of "Political Education and Peacebuilding". The seminar was held at the Hollywood Hotel in Ilidža from December 4th to 6th, 2020, in the presence of 20 participants from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The participants of the seminar were students from the field of social sciences and humanities who are familiar with the topic of political education, but also peacebuilding, and the seminar enabled them to connect these two topics and find a way to use the acquired knowledge in their future professions.
Lecturers at the seminar were doc. dr. Amer Osmić and doc. dr. Sarina Bakić spoke in an interactive and participant-oriented way about political literacy among young people in BiH, the (non) culture of peace that we nurture in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also the ways in which they, as young, promising people can be part of the peacebuilding process in our state. In addition to these two lecturers from the academic milieu, the participants also had the opportunity to listen to journalist Almir Panjeta, who spoke about media tools in political activism. On the last day of the seminar, participants discussed with Youth for Peace facilitators the topic of peacebuilding, but also how politics and political education are related to peacebuilding processes, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but in general.
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