The Luxembourg Girl Guides and Boy Scouts Association [LGS] is spread all over the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg where 60 local groups represent Luxembourg’s biggest youth organization with more than 5000 active members. The LGS are open to everyone without any difference on nationality, religion or physical and psychological conditions. The Luxembourg Girl Guides and Boy Scouts Association are not politically linked.
The International Forum “Bosnia” (IFB) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1997 in Sarajevo. It brings together individuals and institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad committed to the creation of a future for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a harmonious and united society, based on dialogue, trust and respect, and on optimum practice in the fields of human rights protection, the rule of law, and democracy. The IFB’s members adhere to the view of the sustainability of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.
Project
The ISCYH «Ćuprija 2007» will take place between 29 July to the 11 August 2007 in Stolac, jamming together approximately 11 youngsters from Stolac, 11 from rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 23 from abroad.
The work activities will include a continuation in work on reconstruction of three cultural monuments in Stolac: Ćuprija Mosque, Vakufska kuća (endowment house) in Brade and the hill-supporting wall of the Orthodox Church in Poljuba. These activities were started in 2006 as an integral part of the first International summer Camp Ćuprija 2006.
New ecological works as well as protection of natural heritage will be included to the activities of Ćuprija 2007.
In cooperation with a professional reconstruction staff, the participants of the programme will perform various tasks related to these three rehabilitation and renovation activities. All the reconstruction activities will be accompanied by adequate and suitable technical documentation.
The educational activities will include a number of lectures, workshops and discussions on the plural features of the contemporary world, on the tolerance embedded in religious traditions and on cultural history as well as on memory and our responsibility for our common heritage. Volunteers drawn from within the country and from abroad will take part in the planning, organisation and implementation of this portion of the programme. This cognitive segment of the programme will also be supported and complemented by labor activities.
The recreational part of the programme will enable various forms of the participants’ own activities (poetry, music, plays and outings). As it is the case with the first two segments, this segment of the programme will also encourage participants to suggest, plan and implement various activities. This will contribute towards their mutual cooperation leading to more developed attitudes towards responsibility for peace and reconciliation in the world.
The working activities of those participating in the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” will be related to three main partial projects founded in large parts by Luxembourg’s public and private sponsors:
1. Reconstruction of Ćuprija Mosque;
2. Restoration of vakufska kuća (endowment house) in Brade;
3. Reconstruction of the supporting wall of the Orthodox Church;
4. Public service (cleaning river bed, cultivation of plants, etc).
The whole programme is entitled “ISCYH Ćuprija 2007”. Ćuprija means ‘bridge’. Most of the activities undertaken by participants of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” will be carried out in the part of Stolac surrounding the Ćuprija.
Education
Gathering together around the working programme, the young participants will be able to consider the possibility of understanding and applying different forms of tolerance and of strengthening their own background through solidarity with others from diverse backgrounds. All the educational programmes will be planned and implemented as a key part of the entire ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007”. This will engage a number of workshops and exchanging point of views, films, visits and exhibitions, as well as discussions with lecturers and among themselves.
Relevant background and learning materials will also be prepared for the participants of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007”. Workshops and discussions will be organised in different locations (at the camp, the construction site, during the outings). The participants of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” will also be invited to prepare their active presentations within the educational programme.
Recreation
Recreational activities are an integral part of the whole ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” programme. They include poetry readings, dancing, music and inter-religious prayer. They form an extension to the working and education programme parts in order to achieve a higher level of community and sharing mutuality amongst the participants.
Short term and longer duration outings are also planned, for which purpose bus for all participants will be provided. Depending on the circumstances, educational and recreational activities can also be organised by bus, as well as visits to historic sites in Počitelj, Sarajevo, Blagaj, Žitomislići, Mostar.These places offer outstanding examples of sacral architecture (churches, monasteries, friaries, Muslim priories). The participants will have an opportunity to become familiar with the variety of differences and similarities between these sacral monuments.
Location
Stolac is a town situated in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30 km from the Adriatic coast. It is located at the juncture of a three-point valley crossed by the Bregava River in the East-West direction. Stolac municipality takes in a number of villages situated on the neighbouring hills and plateaus. This area has a rich cultural heritage, whose components can be traced from the Palaeolithic era onwards.
These include remnants of old roads, Illyrian forts and Roman settlements, as well as various forms of Christian, Islamic and Jewish cultures. Until the war against Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1992 to 1995, Stolac was a typically pluralist society. It was extensively damaged and very nearly destroyed during this time; most of its heritage was devastated. Since the war, Stolac has passed through a difficult process of restoration and social rehabilitation. Restoration of cultural memory and history is crucial to the building of its future, which requires a change in prevailing knowledge and in current dominant attitudes and behaviour. This will, however, require international help and cooperation.
Camp
The camp of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” will be set up close to the Bregava River. It is an area beside a canyon covered with cultivated fig-trees, representing a favourite spot of the Stolac youth for summer outings and river based water activities.
The camp will be made of approximately 25 sleeping tents in addition to 3-4 larger service tents. Each sleeping tent will accommodate two participants. The camp will have water and electricity supplies, as well as all other elements necessary for the provision of a secure environment for the life and work of the participants.
Costs
The participants of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007” who are not LGS-members, will be selected by means of a public call. All young people between 18 and 25 years of age have the right to apply for the programme. All candidates must complete the application form wich constitutes an integral part of this document. All participants are expected to pay fee of 300 EUR. This fee will cover accommodation, local travel, food, etc. All the participants will cover their on traveling costs to Stolac. All candidates will be notified of the selection results no later than 30 May 2007.
Application
All the candidates are expected to fill in the application form and send it to the address of the International Forum Bosnia no later than 30 March 2007. The decision on the selection of candidates will be made by the organisation committee of the ISCYH “Ćuprija 2007”. For interested young people who cannot afford this amount, special arrangements are possible on request.
A. Applicant’s details
1. Name:
2. Nationality:
3. Gender/ Sex:
4. Date and place of birth:
5. Home address:
6. Current address:
7. Electronic address (email):
8. Telephone number:
9. Educational background:
10. Youth Movement background:
11. Language skills:
B. Appendix
Curriculum Vitae
Applications should be tendered to:
International Forum Bosnia
Sime Milutinovića 10
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Fax: 00387 33 206 484
E-mail: if_bosna@bih.net.ba
Web: www.ifbosna.org.ba
