Type of Organization: Non-governmental - Non-Profit

Home Country: Bosnia and Herzegowina

Overview

The Education for Peace Institute of the Balkans (Efp–Balkans) is registered as a non-profit and charitable non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of Efp–Balkans is to facilitate the creation of a culture of peace in the Balkan region through education.

Efp–Balkans is a registered field office of the International Education for Peace Institute, Switzerland and is situated in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Efp–Balkans receives counsel from the international EFP faculty and consultants, consisting of outstanding individuals from the academic, social and philanthropic segments of society.

The goal of the Education for Peace (EFP) project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is to build a lasting foundation for inter-group and inter-ethnic peace in the whole Balkan region. To achieve this overarching goal, the project focuses on the achievement of the following four main objectives:

1. To equip participants of the programs offered by EFP-Balkans with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and confidence to resolve conflicts peacefully and to create violence-free environments in elementary and secondary schools and all communities throughout BiH and eventually, in all countries in the region;

2. To create mechanisms for teachers, students, administrators, support staff and parents to actively participate in the building of inter-ethnic harmony, democracy and a culture of peace in the school community and wider society;

3. To assist traumatized children and adults in the process of psychological recovery by creating a culture of healing in the participating communities;

4. To evaluate the effectiveness of the BiH EFP program for expansion across the country and eventually to other Balkan countries.

History and Background
in September 2000, Dr. H.B. Danesh (website: HBDanesh.org), former president and professor of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies at Landegg International University (LIU), initiated a community-based, intensive program of Education for Peace (EFP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 24-person on-site faculty comprised of eighteen Bosnian teachers and six individuals from the EFP Program of LIU, under guidance from the EFP senior faculty, facilitated the implementation of the Project. The initial two-year pilot program of EFP was implemented in six schools in three cities (Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Travnik), representing the three main ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniak, Croat, and Serb). The project involved approximately 6,000 students, 400 school staff (teachers, administrators, support staff) and 10,000 parents and guardians. The selected schools served populations that ranged from the elite and materially advantaged to internally displaced persons, orphans and direct victims of the recent war.

As a result of this pilot project, the Education for Peace program has received full recognition and support from the BiH government, local communities and the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a year of operation, teachers, students and government leaders requested that the program be introduced throughout the country. In response, starting in September 2003, the program is being extended to 100 schools across BiH and initiated in other communities worldwide.

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