Bosnia Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Western Balkan state which formed part of Yugoslavia until 1992. Its official languages are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. The country’s population stands at three million people and it has a surface area of 51,202km². The capital city is Sarajevo.

Inter Campus Bosnia has been active since 1999, having been set up immediately after the Balkan conflict. In collaboration with the SK Bubamara sporting association and its president Predrag Pasic – a former captain of the Yugoslav national team – the programme initially involved 700 children. The aim was to promote inter-ethnic reconciliation and psychological well-being by healing post-war trauma.

Strong social tensions and ethnic divisions remain in the country today. The programme’s efforts towards pacification therefore continue, together with the Sprofondo Bezdan Association in Sarajevo and Domanovici, near Mostar. The objective is to promote ethnic and religious pacification, as well as to train local instructors through periodic refresher visits.

In Sarajevo, children of between six and 12 of various nationalities and ethnicities who come from socially and economically vulnerable households are involved in the project.

In Domanovici, the initiative was launched in a school where the Muslim children go to school on the ground floor whilst the Christians study on the first floor, so that they never come into contact with one another. Further schools have joined the project making a total of 80 children. One Catholic and one Muslim instructor lead all activities with the children, thus promoting pacification both on and off the pitch.