Friendships with No Borders: Youth from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia Come Closer Together

Within the second RYCO Open Call for Project Proposals co-financed by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, JU Srednja Tehnička Škola from Bosnia and Herzegovina in partnership with Tehnička Škola Čačak from Serbia implemented the project “Let’s Look Together over the Fence”.

The project took place from November 2019 to December 2020 and focused on fostering intercultural dialogue among youth from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Different workshops and seminars on cultural, social and historical topics helped to connect youth and enabled them to develop a genuine understanding of each other’s cultures.

“The project brought us closer to other cultures and helped break down prejudices, which I believe has borne fruit. By socializing in joint workshops, we realized that we have a lot in common and most importantly, new friendships were created,” Mr Džan Muratović, project participant, stated.

During the activities, youth learned about different cultures, customs and traditions, while discussing also the role that youth can play in regional cooperation. Moreover, they were provided with opportunities to openly communicate, cooperate and develop new skills and knowledge in the field of intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding.

“The idea of the project lies in interculturality and overcoming prejudices. By hanging out together in workshops and outside of them, we realized that there are more things that bring us closer,” Ms Isidora Kešelj, project participant, highlighted.

Speaking about the friendships made during the project, Mr Omer Ibrić, another project participant added: “Friendships have no borders. RYCO has allowed me to meet friends for life. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given and I hope to meet even more friends of different places or religions.”

Due to the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the project activities shifted to the online space, however this did not prevent young participants from connecting and learning from each other and exploring the region through different perspectives.

“For me, the most important thing is that the project was interesting and fun, in addition to learning new things and making new friends. This event is, in my opinion, very important for getting to know other cultures, because we get a chance to get into their worldview,” Mr Aleksandar Gemaljević, project participant, emphasized.

Preuzeto sa: RYCO