Summary of the project implemented by Mreža savjeta vijeća učenika – MreSVU
The project “Building Bridges – Breaking Walls” aims to educate high school students about peace, reconciliation, and capacity building of student councils. The project will be implemented throughout the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, making it highly significant for all high school students in the country as it will help them better understand and appreciate others, fostering the true values of a democratic society.
Through various educational activities, such as trainings and workshops, young people will be empowered to actively advocate for peace and tolerance in their schools and communities. The project will also focus on developing leadership skills among high school students, enabling them to become future agents of change. The ultimate goal is to build bridges of cooperation and understanding among youth, breaking down walls of division and creating an inclusive and peaceful environment for all. Extensive research has revealed that schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina lack the capacity to systematically educate and sensitize young people about the multicultural and multi-ethnic values of the country. This contributes to a situation where generations of young people lack the opportunities to internalize and embrace the values that promote respect, appreciation, and preservation of the rich multi-ethnic and multicultural fabric of Bosnian society. The project will provide education to young people from all across Bosnia and Herzegovina through trainings/workshops on reconciliation, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue. These educational activities will be conducted for student council representatives in all high schools in the country, including 10 trainings/workshops in the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 trainings in regions of Republika Srpska, and 1 training in Brčko District. Additionally, the project activities will create a team of young activists through a national conference and youth camp for peer educators, who will initiate concrete activities in their local communities.
In addition to trainings/workshops, young people will be empowered through research on extremism in schools, art and literature competitions on reconciliation, and public advocacy campaigns in 30 cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The focus will be on addressing the challenges of youth growing up in divided communities, influenced by ethnic, religious, and political divisions within the country.
The project will undoubtedly foster the development of leadership skills among high school students, enabling them to become agents of positive change in their respective environments. By building bridges of cooperation and breaking down walls of division, the project will create an inclusive environment that values diversity and contributes to peaceful coexistence among young people.
The successful implementation of the project will send a clear message to the public that young people are a resource, not a problem to be solved.
Project goals
With this project “mreSVUBIH” aims to educate young people in the fields of multiculturalism and reconciliation, empowering them for greater participation and engagement in creating a positive environment and becoming young leaders who contribute to the better development of their communities, society, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The purpose of the project is to enhance the capacities of student councils and improve democratic values among young people. A specific objective is to educate 300 young student council presidents who will become future youth leaders and peace ambassadors as peer educators. The project seeks to raise public awareness about the aspirations of youth to build a multicultural and multilingual society based on principles and values that respect and embrace diversity in BiH.
Specific objectives:
Increase the sustainability of youth organizations and their networks based on a common platform and joint advocacy for solutions that contribute to recognizing youth as a future resource of the country.
Beneficiaries
The project is designed for high school students aged 15-18. “mreSVUBIH” aims to bring together high school students from various social backgrounds, regions, and cantons, providing them with education on multiculturalism, tolerance, reconciliation, and democratic values. The project’s results will reach all high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina through joint campaigns to be implemented in 30 cities across BiH. The implementation of the project will result in each school having a peer educator and peace ambassador who will conduct education sessions for other high school students within the school, thereby spreading examples of good societal practices. Ultimately, the target groups are the presidents of all student councils in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as such, the end beneficiaries will be all high school students in BiH.
Thanks to the participatory nature of this project, the target group will receive training sets, actively participating in a significant number of project activities such as training sessions, camps, and conferences. Only through high levels of involvement and participation from the target groups and end beneficiaries within the project will the desired impact and expanded effects be achieved.
Main activities
- Youth Educator Training – Training for young educators who will participate in the preparatory training and all project activities. The training includes education on multiculturalism in BiH and democratic processes and their importance in BiH.
- 16 Educational Training/Workshops – Implementation of training for 300 selected representatives of student councils from all high schools in BiH who will learn about multiculturalism and democratic values.
- Research on Youth Attitudes towards Multicultural BiH – 15,000 young participants from across BiH who will be involved as the target group in research and the advancement of the reconciliation process in BiH.
- Public Advocacy Campaigns – Based on the research results, a campaign will be conducted in 30 cities throughout BiH to promote tolerance, non-violence, reconciliation, and sustainable peace in BiH.
- Youth Peace Camp and Leadership Training – A camp for 35 peer educators and an opportunity for developing skills and attitudes for successful reconciliation and building sustainable peace in society.
- Creative Literary Competition on the Topic of Peace and Reconciliation in BiH – A competition open to all high school students in BiH on the theme “Peace as the only path that connects us.” The competition will select three best works.
- BiH National Conference – A conference for 50 youth leaders, representatives of student councils in high schools, with the promotion of project results.
