Young Activists Empowered to Tackle Human Rights Issues

Through longterm cooperation with Civil Rights Defenders, Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (YIHR) continues to enhance the capacities for civic activism and bring about positive changes in the society. As a result, several groundbreaking initiatives have emerged. One example is “We are looking for the line”, a youth movement which will tackle the issue of division in the city of Mostar through art and activism.

The main components of the cooperation with Civil Rights Defenders are trainings for youth in smaller and disregarded communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the School of Civil Liberties and Activism (SCA), initiated and held since 2011.

As a result, the grass roots initiative “We are looking for the line” was initiated by Alumni School of Civil Liberties and Activism (SCA) from Mostar. The idea is to start a youth movement which will tackle the issue of division in Mostar through art and activism. As a first step, Alumni members decided to organise an educational program for 40 youth in Mostar and provide them with skills they learned while attending SCA. Therefore they organised modules on human rights, activism, communication and conflict resolution and constitutional setting in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The modules were held in the course of 4 weeks during March and April. The last Saturday was dedicated to an experimental street action.

A flash mob was initiated by Alumni of SCA from Prijedor who are members of the newly found organisation “Čisto srce”. Their main problem is lack of designated space for youth activities and civil society initiatives. As the negotiations with the mayor and several donor agencies are being conducted by the management of “Čisto srce”, youth decided to organise a flash mob in the centre of the town, requesting the space for their activities. The flash mob ended in front of the Municipality of Prijedor.