Mid and East Antrim restarts Remembering Srebrenica programme for young leaders

This week marks the 26th anniversary of the genoice in which thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys were separated to be killed.

The 8,372 victims are remembered each year in Bosnia and around the world.

Council is restarting the Conflict Transformation and Srebrenica programme, which is financed through the European Union and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Remembering Srebrenica is now recruiting new participants. If you are aged 18-24 and living in the borough you are eligible.

The programme is free and includes an initial workshop in Mid and East Antrim and a five day working visit to Birmingham to explore issues of cohesion and take part in live links to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor William McCaughey, said: “We are very aware of how impactful this programme has been to date and how much the young leaders have got out of it. I am delighted that, despite Covid, we are still able to support the programme and that the young leaders will undertake a visit - albeit to Birmingham and not to Bosnia on this occasion.

“We have much to learn about cohesion in urban areas of Britain like Birmingham where segregation and identity and religion are factors in how communities live, work and interact.

“Exploring cohesion in urban Great Britain plus the lessons of what led to genocide at Srebrenica, the impact of hate speech and use of polarising symbols amongst other things, will make for a fascinating visit to Birmingham for the young leaders. We hope the participants will come back to reflect seriously on their learning and make a major contribution in the years to come as leaders in peace building and anti-prejudice work here in Northern Ireland.”

Match-funding for the programme has been provided by The Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

Peter Osborne, chair of Remembering Srebrenica in Northern Ireland, said: “This is an opportunity for young leaders to broaden their horizons and develop their skills and knowledge. We hope in doing so it will help them make an impact for the better here in their local communities.

“It is a pity that a visit to Srebrenica cannot take place in 2021, but this is the next best thing with live links to Bosnia but also with an exciting programme being lined up in Birmingham.”

It is anticipated the programme will include:

Visit to and meeting with officials of Birmingham City Council and the Mayor of the West Midlands;

Visit to a mosque in Birmingham;

Visit to the Bosnia and Herzegovina UK Network Headquarters in Birmingham;

Visit to a sixth form in Birmingham;

Visit to a community project in Birmingham working on good relations and cohesion;

Meeting with a campaigner on justice for Birmingham pub bombings victims;

What happened at Srebrenica session;

Live broadcast with Mothers of Srebrenica from Potacari/Srebrenica site;

Live broadcast with UK Ambassador to BiH.

Opportunity to meet with the Bosnia Ambassador to the UK;

Presentation from a former UN Forensics Specialist.

Information sessions will be held by Zoom at 3pm and 6pm on Wednesday, August 18 and 6pm on August 19. To get the registration link, email the programme on the dedicated e-mail address: [email protected]

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Click here to read: Mid and East Antrim youth reflect on the pandemic’s impact

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