Peace Catalyst in
Bosnia &
Herzegovina
Peace Catalyst team members in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) lead intergroup peacebuilding workshops, trauma sensitivity and healing courses, and practical peacebuilding skill development programs for Bosnian participants.
These initiatives create spaces where people from divided communities can engage in meaningful dialogue, process past wounds, and develop skills for navigating conflict constructively. By addressing both personal and communal healing, these programs contribute to long-term social cohesion and the possibility of reconciliation.
WHY BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA?
Three decades after the Dayton Agreement ended Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to be plagued by unaddressed trauma, competing narratives of victimization, and divisive, identity-based politics and is still socially divided along ethnic/religious lines. Many religious groups in BiH have contributed to an atmosphere of exclusion, distrust, and violence. However, BiH also has a long history of inter-religious respect and collaboration across differences and is home to a unique generation of peacebuilders who have been pivotal in catalyzing and sustaining progressive peacebuilding efforts. Their wisdom and experiences in peacebuilding across ethnic and religious boundaries can inspire and shape peacebuilding approaches elsewhere in the world.
What
We Do
Facilitate intensive learning experiences for combined international and local groups to learn from local peacebuilders. We delve into topics like trauma, identity, interreligious collaboration, group narratives, and practical skills, and we help visitors apply peacebuilding lessons they learn in Bosnia to their home contexts.
Equip Protestant Christians for peacebuilding in BiH, across the Balkans, and around Europe. We speak and lead workshops about peace-oriented theology, teach practical peacebuilding skills, and provide opportunities for local Christians to get involved in peace work. These workshops include leaders of Protestant churches, organizations, and networks and range from one session to several-day conferences.
Lead programs and trainings for local Bosnian participants, including intergroup peacebuilding workshops, trauma sensitivity and healing courses, and peacebuilding skill development.
Partner with Bosnian peacebuilders from various ethno-religious backgrounds to support existing peace programs and develop new ones to bridge the gap across ethnic and religious divides by writing grants, doing monitoring and evaluation work, and initiating new courses and collaborative projects.
Get Involved
Join a group or bring your own for a Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage
(8-12 days in BiH)
Gain hands-on peacebuilding experience by doing a 1-year internship with us
SUSTAIN OUR WORK
Sustain our work through monthly or one-time donations:
*Bosnian peacebuilders are highly capable and massively underfunded. Every donation sustains our ongoing peacebuilding programs, supports local Bosnian team members and/or interns, and provides scholarships for local participants to join in peacebuilding training.
Local
Partnerships
The PCI BiH team has worked with the European Commission, International Office for Migration, Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, Mali Koraci (Small Steps), The Peace Academy Foundation, Center for Peacebuilding (CIM), The Network for Peacebuilding, PRONI Center for Youth Development, Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and many more organizations and foundations working for peace in BiH.
Participant
Testimonials
"Trauma is ubiquitous, and awareness of the ways it impacts individuals and communities is essential for anyone who works with people. This course has raised my awareness to be better able to support not only my community work but also to appreciate more fully the stories of my own family and friends."
- UK Leadership Coach & Trauma-Sensitive Peacebuilding course participant
“Please bring more self-reflective and minority voices from the West. Their perspectives are so valuable to us in BiH to see how the challenges we face are so similar everywhere.”
- Catalyze Serb participant
”This type of collaborative trip is the way of the future. We must all learn to live out the Gospel in this way everywhere.”
- American Church Leader
“My life changed from the experiences I had in Sarajevo”
- Catalyze 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.”
- Notre Dame student
Get to know the
Peace Catalyst
BiH Team
Orhan Hadžagić: Lead Partner
Orhan is a Balkan journalist, entrepreneur, translator, and political analyst. He enjoys hosting learning groups, working as a tour guide, and connecting diverse communities together for dialogue, to build understanding, and work for peace across group divisions. He was part of the core team that designed and continues to co-lead and facilitate the Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage.
Explore blogs by our BiH team members
