LocationsYoung people from Prijedor marking “12 days of Peace”
September 23, 2022
During the global campaign “12 days of Peace“, young people from Prijedor had the opportunity to become acquainted with their role in the process of reconciliation, development of tolerance and fight against radicalism. They were supported by experienced psychologists from the Civil Association “Psiholuminis”, which organized workshops aimed at empowering young people aged 13 to 18.
With the aim to avert the effects of negative narratives and nationalistic ideas on young people’s minds and emotions, professionals from “Psiholuminis” created a unique methodology of work. They believe that Prijedor hasn’t been immune to the consequences of war, which disturbed the normal functioning of communities in Bosnia Herzegovina, greatly affecting the mental health of children and youth.
“A healthy society is based on the healthy young individual“ is the message of “Psiholuminis” association, which launched the idea of working with the youth on preventing risk prone forms of behavior.
The “Tolerance is my choice” workshop, held on September 23rd in Prijedor, brought together 50 young people from the city. The workshop was organized through cooperation of the “Psiholuminis” association and the Youth Council of Prijedor, with the aim of empowering young people and strengthening their mental and physical health. It is carried out under the ReLOaD2 project (Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans) financed by the European Union, and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“The greatest challenge for the workshop organizers was to explain to young people what radicalism is about”, said psychologist and family psychotherapist Vanja Vukojevic, who worked with these young people during the summer of 2022.
“You see, these are children who were born after the war, but grew up in areas affected by it. In the beginning, we feared that radicalism is an unfamiliar term which will be difficult for them to grasp. However, we were positively surprised when they accepted the theme of the workshop and eventually understood the importance of preventing radicalism for the sake of the society development”, said Vukojevic.
During the workshops, young people were initially introduced to terms such as radicalism, nationalism, transgenerational transfer of trauma, critical thinking and prejudice, peaceful conflict resolution, and emotional literacy. After that, experts worked with the participants on methods for preventing radicalism and protection of mental health through critical thinking, behavior and emotional reaction.
High school student and workshop participant Karolina Bogdanović says that she has heard of radicalism before, but she didn’t know how to recognize it in the society.
“These workshops helped me realize how to deal with people who have radical attitudes and opinions. For me, the most interesting part of the workshop was when the psychologists educated us on methods of anger, rage and emotion management, which are necessary in certain situations when we need to explain why something bothers us, before we put blame on others” said Bogdanovic.
Experienced psychologists from the “Psiholuminis” association say that the data they have collected during the workshops regarding the attitudes of young people will help them in their future work and in creating programs for working with youth. This way, they can contribute in sustaining good mental health of new generations, which significantly affects the improvement of quality of life and the prosperity of the society. Continuous quality work with young people will enable a life without negative effects of the collective experience for the new generations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, free of prejudice and ethnic intolerance.
