I applied to Notre Dame’s faculty-led trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina this summer because I wanted to learn more about a part of Europe that is often left out of history books and course syllabi. I wanted to educate myself on the rich history of the country, and the current situation in regards to peacebuilding. This trip did help me accomplish those goals, but the most impactful part of the journey was actually a conversation about my own country.

During our May student trip to Sarajevo, Amra, one of our discussion facilitators, laughed, cigarette dangling from her lips, as she likened the city to a femme fatale—alluring, but with a dark side. It was, we soon learned, an apt description for a lovely and complicated city, one that has been simultaneously strengthened and scarred by its history.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a place I had ever pictured myself visiting. But thanks to a student trip made possible by the University of Notre Dame and Peace Catalyst International, I recently visited the country—not as a tourist, but as a student of peacebuilding who gained a new appreciation for the role of religion in peace processes and reconciliation.

We are excited to announce that the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame will be leading a group of students to work with us in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in May of this year. The trip will be led by Mahan Mirza, Teaching Professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs, and Executive Director of its Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion.