Elvir Hambašić has turned his interest in wood carving and woodcraft into a unique business, working alongside his children and his wife, Sanida. This family from Donji Ulišnjak, near Maglaj, is one of the few who are committed to preserving culture and tradition by producing traditional Bosnian furniture.
One would think that art and post-war wounds were not so connected. Aida Šehović, a Bosnian-born artist based in New York, disagreed and, for the past 15 years, has proven that art can help in post-conflict recovery.
In 2020, the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) and the Srebrenica Memorial Center began organizing a summer school for young people in Srebrenica. The first one, entitled ‘Dealing with the past to rethink the future’, was held in the period from July 8 to 13, 2020, while the second, called ‘Truth. Justice. Prevention.’, lasted from July 6 to 13, 2021.
Hundreds of children used to flock to Kosmaj, Kozara, Sutjeska and other important sites erected in memory of the victims of the Second World War. Now these visits are rare, and some monuments have not been visited for years.
This July, as part of the program marking the 27th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in cooperation with the Srebrenica Memorial Center, the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) is organizing the third edition of the Srebrenica Youth School in Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Whether or not Bosnia and Herzegovina will become a state of the elderly is a frequently asked question, and the answer will largely depend on government officials. By providing decent employment opportunities for young people as well as incentives for counteracting the “birth dearth,” officials at all levels of government help put more students in our schools.