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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
June 9, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| April 8, 2007 |
Struggling for Recognition: the Youth Movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Jan Zlatan Kulenovic |
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| Jan Kulenovic gives a workshop on youth rights in Bosnia |
Jan Kulenovic, the Executive Director of the Youth Information Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (OIA) was last on Peace Boat on the 33rd Global Voyage in 2001, as a participant of the first International Student programme. Mr. Kulenovic remembers it well: “At the time there were not enough opportunities for young people to talk about what was going on, especially for young people from conflict countries. So imagine six people from conflict regions, particularly the former Yugoslavia, coming together to talk about it. We were able to express how we felt about the conflict to people from overseas or people from far way. When you are in the situation you can not always see other ways to solve a conflict.” |
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| Jan Kulenovic gives an informal interview |
Over a decade after Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence from Yugoslavia, the after effects of the Balkan conflict still linger. In a comparison between Bosnian and Herzegovina youth with other European nations, there are vast discrepancies in resources and quality of life, especially concerning employment and education opportunities. In a bid to rebuild the nation, the needs of young people aged 15-30 have fallen by the wayside although they make up 23% of the Bosnian and Herzegovina population. |
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| On the exposure tour with Global University. Photo: Si Hun Kim |
What are their rights? OIA created web portals and resources for young people by opening information centers all over the country for people seeking advice on employment and study. OIA also produces media projects and conducts capacity building workshops to build young people’s skills, already undertaken by over 15,000 people since its inception. Mr Kulenovic says, “workshops using drama, music, journalism or lobbying activities where young people work on projects together, to meet one another, lets them find common interests and get a better understanding of what was going on around them. It was a way to gather young people from different ethnic groups in one space. Communication is a step towards reconciliation.” |
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To empower youth, unorthodox and creative lobbying and advocacy programs are carried out such as the road trip action “Space for the Youth.” About 30 youth activists went on a 1,500 km bus trip through 24 cities and townships in Bosnia and Herzegovina to have meetings with mayors, city councils and local administration representatives. This action led to over 100 media appearances and brought youth issues to the nation’s focal forefront.
Mr. Kulenovic last hosted Peace Boat in September, 2006 during a Global University overland exposure tour as part of a partnership programme with OIA. Together young people from Bosnia and Japan participated in a successful Bosnian and Herzegovina national youth voting campaign - more young people voted in that election than ever before. Onboard the 56th voyage Mr. Kulenovic gave numerous workshops on effective activism and once again went with Global University students to OIA in Sarajevo.
Resources:
www.oiabih.info
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