Learn from peacebuilders who've lived through war

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for individuals and small groups to come to Bosnia & Herzegovina on our Spring 2024 Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage. 

Dates: May 23 – June 1, 2024
Cost: $1600 
(includes food and lodging, travel within BiH, honorariums for workshop leaders and guest speakers, excursion and team building activities, and museum entry fees; does not include travel to or from BiH)

Those who’ve lived through war and trauma and have come out on the other side as peacebuilders have some of the most powerful lessons to teach us. In the Bosnian War, both faith and ethnicity were used to stoke distrust, fear, and violence, and the peacebuilders there who have survived and overcome have wisdom and experience in peacebuilding that can inspire and shape peacebuilding approaches elsewhere in the world. Learn from these peacebuilders with us by joining a group or bringing one of your own to Bosnia & Herzegovina.

This peacebuilding learning pilgrimage combines groups of foreign and local participants who learn together from local peacebuilding practitioners, because this not only fosters a powerful learning experience and lasting impact for participants from foreign countries but also empowers local populations in conflict-affected zones like Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH). (See The Dual Impact of Local-Inclusive Peacebuilding Learning Pilgrimages for more.)

On this pilgrimage experience, you’ll engage Bosnia & Herzegovina’s rich history and context with peacebuilders from Sarajevo and around BiH and learn lessons about peacebuilding that can be reapplied back home in your community. This experience includes 3 pre-pilgrimage preparatory Zoom calls covering Bosnian history and some introductory peacebuilding training; the 10-day pilgrimage; and post-trip debriefing, follow-up, and real-world application.

”This type of collaborative trip is the way of the future. Christians must all learn to live out the Gospel in this way everywhere.”

~2019 Participant

“My trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina was easily the most impactful experience in my academic career. Why? – the people. Our facilitators, guest speakers, local academic counterparts, and their families went above and beyond to welcome us to their beautiful and complex country. To spend an entire week with a truly generous, humble, kind, and courageous group of people, who acknowledge strength in religious diversity, was a testament to peacebuilding in action. The memories and friends I made on this trip will stay with me, and I am honored and privileged to have had the opportunity to engage equitably as an ally, partner, and learner – and not as an outside expert or spectator. I look forward to applying the lessons learnt, to my career in peacebuilding and global affairs.”

~ 2022 Participant, University Student