August 2023

The BOLD Fellows in Civic Engagement are young leaders of the Balkans. Although the program began in 2020, our first cohort we welcomed in-person to Omaha was in August 2022. That first year, we just had fellows from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This second year of in-person exchange, we hosted fellows from BiH as well as Serbia and Montenegro.

After departing Caux, I traveled to Sarajevo, Mostar, and Banja Luka, the three biggest cities in BiH each with their own population, culture, and complicated history. In Sarajevo and Banja Luka, BOLD alumni who now work at leading NGOs, hosted my facilitating workshops. Both were on conflict resolution skills, starting with ourselves. I also hosted gatherings for our BOLD alumni in the three big cities which also doubled as welcome events for the incoming fellows.

The impact that these exchange programs have on the lives of young leaders and their communities upon returning home, is transformational. To continue these relationships is even more meaningful as their continued growth is a gift. I even got to ride in a car fast enough to fly away and see the incredible beauty of this country. The wounds of the 1990s war still felt in the intergenerational trauma inherited by the children and grandchildren of those who lived through it. But the beauty of the mountains and rivers and belief of the people made me hope for better as they live and die this way. Legend has it that drinking from the ancient fountain in Sarajevo means I will return someday (maybe sooner than I think).