This January, our team welcomed a visiting youth group from Belfast, Northern Ireland as part of the “Youth Empowerment: Inspiring Future Belfast” to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group, led by GEMS NI in partnership with Diverse Youth NI and Training for Women Network (TWN), and supported by Belfast City Council and the Special EU Programmes Body (PEACEPLUS Programme), visited to explore lessons on dealing with the past, memorialization, and the role of youth in building inclusive and peaceful societies.
Through discussions on the fall of Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the concept of Ordinary Heroes, we reflected together on responsibility, courage, and the power of individuals to stand up for humanity in times of division. The group also visited Galerija 11/07/95, International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and War Childhood Museum, learning about the Srebrenica genocide, experiences of children during war, and the process of finding and identifying the missing.
You can read about the visit through the perspective of our Spring 2026 Interns in their blog post here.