Study visit for photo competition winners from V4 countries
In the period 14.11.2019. to 17.11.2019. Foreign Policy Initiative BH organized a study visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina for young people from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary who participated in a photo competition on “SUCCESSFUL INTER-RELIGIOUS CO-OPERATION AND DIALOGUE”. Participants in these three countries had the opportunity to make their own picture based on a video collage, created as a result of shared personal experiences and thinking of young people in BiH, who portrayed equality in their stories through the prism of inter-religious coexistence and dialogue that makes BiH a unique country that can, by way of example, offer young Czechs, Hungarians and Slovaks a reading of history which shows that successful dialogue between members of different religious communities can be (and is, in fact) the rule, not the exception.
During the study visit, the participants had the opportunity to talk with representatives of NGOs in Sarajevo, the Center for Advanced Studies and Humanity in Action (HIA). Center for Advanced Studies – CNS is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to comprehensive and sustainable development of BiH – a society based on peace, justice, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Humanity in Action Bosnia & Herzegovina is an essential part of a collaborative, international learning community of university students and young professionals in Europe and the United States. They think about the big questions in life and society – like social responsibility, values, universal rights, and empathy for those who we disagree with. They care deeply about history and constantly compare the past to the present to learn for the future.
Also, at the premises of the Inter-Religious Council in BiH, they were introduced to the work of the Inter-religious Council which acts as a domestic, non-governmental organization that is not superstitious but a body through which the goodwill of traditional churches and religious communities is manifested to contribute jointly to building civil society in areas where the influence of churches and religious communities is undeniable..
At the War Childhood Museum, they had a presentation and then a tour of materials related to growing up in the war and got acquainted with the stories of each of the young people who submitted some of the items on display at the museum. The exhibition and the idea of establishing a museum was based on a 328-page illustrated book that brought the story of all ages with a rare opportunity to confront the traumas of their recent past without reinforcing ethnic boundaries, the WCM has expanded its activities to contemporary conflict, post-conflict, and resettlement zones.
The study visit finished with a city tour and a visit to museums and major historical sites and institutions.
These activities were organized as part of a project called “My Neighbor, Success Stories of Inter-faith Dialogue within and beyond the V4 Countries” funded by the International Visegrad Fund.
