BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

Reconciliation and Hope Project

Situation on Site

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a former Yugoslav country. Yugoslavia was communist from 1946 to 1991. In the early 1990s, the countries became independent, which led to an interethnic civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that lasted from 1992 to 1995.

In 2020, the estimated population is 3.5 million, of which 51% are Muslim Bosnians, 31% Serb Orthodox, 15% Catholic Croats and 3% others. Each of the three main groups has its own version of the language. Under the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995), which ended the war, there are two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, made up mostly of Bosnians and Croats, and the Republic of Srpska, made up mostly of Serbs. The country is also divided (in people’s hearts) into two parts that were formally separate kingdoms: Northern Bosnia and Southern Herzegovina.
The highly complicated system of government and the persistent strong nationalism of the various population groups make it difficult to govern efficiently and increase the risk of corruption. There are divisions throughout the country. These are also clearly visible in Mostar: Bosnians and Croats live predominantly on different sides of the city, with separate schools, separate emergency services, etc.

The society is very relationship-oriented and has a strong coffee culture. Unemployment is around 11%, and over 25% among young people. In the last five years, more than 173,000 Bosnians or 48,932 families have left the country to work mainly in Western Europe.

Goals & Focus

We promote reconciliation and hope among all ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina through education, sports, business and family.

We believe that there is great potential in different ethnic groups working together for the good of society and the country as a whole. Cooperation is much more effective than acting separately. Therefore, we want to bring people from all ethnic groups together to facilitate dialogue, interaction and ultimately reconciliation.

Activities

We are currently working in Mostar through…

Education: People want to learn languages because they have realised the opportunities it opens up for them. We teach English in primary classrooms, after-school clubs and 1: 1 conversations.We help in schools of all ethnic backgrounds with conversational English in the classroom. We also support language teachers with teaching seminars and organise an annual English camp. We also support schools with anti-racism strategies.

Sport: Sport connects people and overcomes ethnic boundaries. We are currently running football training sessions for young people and talks in English with sports professionals. Our goal is to have a football team with people from all ethnic groups.

We see potential for:

German lessons: Similar opportunities are emerging as with English lessons. German is a language in demand here.

Sport: Unsere Kontakte zu Sportprofis wollen wir nutzen, um mit ihnen die Hoffnung einer ethnisch gemischten Fussballmannschaft zu bewegen und sie zu begeistern, die Vision mitzutragen. Bei anderen Sportarten sehen wir ähnliches Potential.

Business entrepreneurship: There is a great need to support graduates and young professionals, to enable them to gain work experience and to encourage them to become entrepreneurs, even if the opportunities here are limited without the right contacts.

Family centre: The aim is to help families develop their skills and areas of life so that their quality of life improves, e.g. through self-help groups for people with a disability, young mothers or courses on raising children.