In the past year, two eUPSHIFT workshops were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 84 young people from 15 local communities across the country. The UPSHIFT program aims to empower and educate young people to design solutions to problems in their communities. Grouped into 22 teams, the participants presented their ideas to a jury that selected 10 proposals and awarded them with a total of 30,000 BAM. A short film was made about the UPSHIFT workshop in BiH, which you can watch at this link.
The final event for the 3rd and 4th eUPSHIFT workshop in BiH gathered young people from different parts of BiH and offered them space to socialize and exchange ideas. Participants noted that their peers have similar challenges in their local communities (towns and villages) and encouraged and supported each other: “I carry with me the knowledge that there are advantages and disadvantages in other cities, because the problems other people have are also present in my city.”
Through workshops on teamwork and discussion about tolerance, identities and differences in society, young people learned and made new friendships. “It was never boring. I met people who are just like me!”, said the UPSHIFT participant. “There is someone who shares the same opinion as I do and someone who will help you,” concluded the participant of the event after discussing various topics during the UPSHIFT workshop. Some of these topics are:
- “How to find an adequate solution for denied music training?”, Prnjavor
- “How can we help young people to become active in solving the problem of unhealthy eating?”, Fojnica
- “How can we help people with development difficulties in finding new friends?”, Banja Luka
- “How can we reduce the problem of peer violence among young people between the ages of 13 and 18 and how can we raise awareness of the importance of this problem?”, Derventa
- “How can we provide a bus stop for students of the Elementary School” Petar P. Njegoš “Boljanić?”, Doboj
- “How can we reduce the negative image of ourselves in adolescent years caused by the influence of the mass media?”, Banja Luka
- “How can we prevent the problem of negative comments based on the physical appearance of young people?”, Jajce
- “How can we support young LGBT+ persons?”, Banja Luka
- “How can we create a positive atmosphere among young people of different nationalities in Busovača?”, Busovača
Amila Madžak, Program Manager for Adolescents and Youth, UNICEF in BiH, addressed everyone present and invited them to join the U-Report platform, a tool through which UNICEF communicates with young people around the world. The UPSHIFT program is implemented by the Humanitarian Organization “Genesis Project” from Banja Luka in partnership with UNICEF in BiH, with the support of the Kingdom of Sweden. You can read more about the initiatives of young people and the projects they have implemented on the official UPSHIFT website in BiH: https://upshift.ba/
