Location:

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

This human rights program will focus specifically on the roots of conflict and the dynamics of justice, reconciliation, and peace building as experienced in Bosnia more than a decade after the signing of the peace accord. In particular, participants will gain experience in conflict resolution and transformation as well as deepen their understanding of the post-conflict challenges faced by Bosnians today, especially young people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds.

• Increase participants' understanding of both the context and practice conflict transformation. In particular, we aim to better understand how the promotion of transitional justice can be used as an effective tool to help prevent conflict, minimize the potential for mass violence and eliminate the threat of genocide • Build the skills, knowledge and confidence of youth to raise awareness, take action and work collaboratively on projects to promote conflict resolution and prevention, as well as defend human rights standards. • Facilitate cross-cultural dialogue, enable critical thinking and analysis of complex issues and encourage joint problem solving to address shared human rights concerns • Foster personal and emotional growth by testing boundaries and limitations, reflecting critically on our own cultures, exploring how the choices we make affect the lives of others, building strong cross-cultural connections and finding positive outlets for service to promote human rights

A delegation typically includes a mixture of the following types of activities: • Educational training workshops connecting U.S. participants with their peers from the project country where they can share ideas analyze problems and create collaborative projects. • Site visits and dialogue with local activists and different non-governmental organizations, representatives from the government and international organizations, media, and cultural figures. • As an extension of the learning community in Sanski Most, participants assist for several days in providing volunteer services to gain hands-on experience. These projects vary from program to program and year to year and have included: various activities such as leading educational workshops, interviewing and documenting the stories of young activists, and more traditional service projects (such as painting murals, planting trees, construction projects, etc.) Please note: this volunteer service activity aims primarily to give international participants as well as their Bosnian workshop counterparts/youth a sense of how

Setting Description:

Participants in this delegation to Bosnia will spend time in Sarajevo, the capital of the country that suffered from a 1,000-day siege from 1992-1995. The group will also travel to several locations in the provinces, including Srebrenica, the site of the largest massacre in Europe since the end of WWII, where over 8,200 Muslim men and boys were killed in the course of one week in July 1995. In addition to visiting these sites, the participants will have an opportunity to meet with various Bosnian NGOs working on issues of human rights, community development, youth empowerment, women’s rights, and conflict resolution. The delegation will include a workshop with Bosnian youth that will provide a space for mutual learning and sharing of the important lessons regarding various frameworks for observing and protecting human rights. Finally, the participants will have an opportunity to spend some time working hands-on with various organizations assisting them with their daily activities i

Cost:

Program Tuition The program tuition for this delegation is $2,700. Please note that the program tuition does NOT include the cost of international airfare, many meals, or personal expenses. Please read below for a list of what is and is not included in the program tuition and a breakdown of how this money is spent to realize the goals of the program.