Treće okupljanje mladih, učesnika projekta „Izgradnja mira je moja budućnost“, koji se realizuje u saradnji sa Ekumenskom inicijativom žena održano je u hotelu Saraj, Sarajevo 18. i 19. 08. 2018. godine.
Na Palama je od 8. do 10. 7. 2018. godine održano drugo okupljanje učesnika u okviru projekta „Izgradnja mira je moja odgovornost“ koji Youth for Peace realizira uz podršku Ekumenske inicijative žena.
Ovo okupljanje bilo je posvećeno volonterizmu te su se na istom obrađivale teme: šta je to volonterizam, kako postati volonter, šta znači biti volonter, zašto je bitno volontirati, kao i kako organizirati neku volontersku akciju, koja će imati za cilj unapređivanje lokalne zajednice. Pored tema koje su teorijski, ali i praktično predstavljene učesnicima, uz mnoštvo vježbi koje potiču učenje kroz primjere i iskustvo, pred učesnicima se nalazi i izazov planiranja vlastite volonterske akcije, a koja će se ticati rada na izgradnji mira, uspostavljanju dijaloga i jačanja zajednica iz kojih mladi dolaze.
In the period from May 4th to May 6th first meeting within the project „Building Peace is my responsibility!“, that Youth for Peace implements with the support of Ecumenical Women's Initiative and program Youth Leaders which gathers 20 young people from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Pale. Ten more participants joined the program this year, besides those 10 young people from the first generation. This gathering served as an opportunity for participants to meet, connect to each other and start building relationships that will help in the further implementation of the project, as well as to strengthen this group of young people as a team. The topic of this meeting was communication, with the accent on non-violent communication, assertiveness and active listening, as important tools that are needed in peace building and dialogue processes. During this 3-day long gathering young people also had an opportunity to learn about leadership, and by that start their way towards learning and developing leadership skills, necessary for their engagement in civil society. In the next period of three months participants will have two more gatherings, and they will work individually with their mentors – trainers and members of Youth for Peace.
A voluntary action in Gerontological Center Sarajevo, within the project „Youth Leaders“ was held on November 17th. This was fifth meeting of Youth Leaders where they showed, through the practice, the knowledge and skills they had adopted during previous four meetings. This beautiful story was created by YfP Youth Leaders, as their first joint voluntary action. Youth Leaders, with the support of their mentors have organized a workshop for elders. They were designing postcards for their friends and beloved ones, dancing, singing and enjoying playing board games. The leaders are thankful for each advice they got from elders but also proud of every smile they have lured. Partners of Youth for Peace in this activity was the Gerontological Center as the host of a successful action.
The fourth meeting of mentors and leaders was held from the 29th of September to 1st of October. Educators have used the sunny weekend to present the topic of volunteerism. They have discussed with leaders about the importance of volunteering in the young people's lives, They also got a chance to find out what are the possible ways of voluteering engagement in their local community. Besides that, the leaders got to know more about the rights and responsibilities of a volunteer. Youth for Peace volunteers from Italy have spoken about what does it mean for them to be a volunteer and a young person at the same time. The last day of the meeting was reserved for the leaders and the preparations for their very first volunteering action, which is a great opportunity to implement the gained knowledge.
The third meeting of leaders and mentors was held in Pale from 28th to 30th of July 2017. This meeting's topics were youth work and animation of youth. Youth leaders have once again shown the will and determination to work, learn and improve skills. During the interactive workshops, prepared by hard-working educators, the leaders have shown special interest in different types of youth work. Along with their mentors, they have discussed about the application of different methods and models in youth work, which gave them a wider perspective about this vast topic.
The second part of the meeting was dedicated to the animation of youth. The leaders had the opportunity to improve their own animation skills and to realise how can a youth animator contribute to the success of youth work, by using his knowledge and skills.
For the second time, since the beginning of the project, ten future Youth Leaders have meet their mentors. During the weekend, mentors have taught leaders new skills in order to help them with their further involvement in non-governmental organizations. Since this meeting, mentors have had relaxed communication with their leaders and quality work together. Through interactive workshops, leaders have taught the essential aspects of communication and teamwork, learned how to communicate without violence, and how teamwork could be important for each of them. Also, they have got homework to do until the next meeting. They will have to work in groups, in order to experience teamwork. Youth for Peace Young Leaders’ progress is already visible and their social engagement begins. Next time, they will get new knowledge, while taking advantage of experience and things they learnt so far.
In the period from 7th to 9th of April 2017 at the hotel „Saraj“ in Sarajevo the first meeting within the project „Youth Leaders“ was held. The program brings together high school students from the area of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. The new project of the Youth for Peace organization, as a part of a global program of URI (United Religions Initiative), is based on a three-day-long gatherings of 10 young leaders and their 10 mentors during one year. The first meeting was a great opportunity for the young people to get to know all details of the new project, during which they will acquire all the necessary skills for their first steps towards activism in their local community and society in general.
During the project, thanks to specially designed interactive workshops, the leaders will learn what is needed for a young person to become a leader – the features that should be a part of their identity, the skills and knowledge that they should possess. In addition, young people will have the opportunity to design and implement a voluntary action together with peers from their community who will, with the support of their mentors from Youth for Peace, become their first volunteer experience.
