Bosnia Herzegovina - Articoli

Unesco supports the Ars Aevi project in Sarajevo

14/11/2024 -  Anna Lodeserto

In Sarajevo, the foundation stone of the future Ars Aevi museum of contemporary art has been symbolically laid. A project that Enver Hadžiomerspahić has been working on since 1996, also involving architect Renzo Piano. Interview with Siniša Šešum, head of the UNESCO office in Sarajevo


Former Yugoslavia and Palestine, between solidarity and divisions

05/12/2024 -  Giovanni ValeSanja Mlađenović StevićAnna Lodeserto

More than a year ago, the Israeli invasion of Gaza began. In the countries of the former Yugoslavia, governments and civil society have reacted differently. If governments – with the exception of Slovenia – have all but sided with Israel, civil society organisations have organised protests and demonstrations in favour of Palestine


The Sky Above Zenica

22/11/2024 -  Anna Lodeserto

An interview with The Sky Above Zenica directors Zlatko Pranjić and Nanna Frank Møller, and Professor Samir Lemeš from Eko Forum Zenica


Ecocide and nature protection in the Balkans

20/09/2024 -  Sanja Mlađenović StevićKaterina Topalova

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia - known for their extraordinary natural resources and biodiversity - have been facing environmental crime and the devastation of nature


IOM comments on the article “Bosnia and Herzegovina, the challenges of reception”

19/09/2024 -  IOM

We publish the comment received from IOM to the article we published last September 9th entitled “Bosnia and Herzegovina, the challenges of reception”


Bosnia and Herzegovina: the challenges of hosting migrants

09/09/2024 -  Massimo Guglietta

As Bosnia and Herzegovina prepares to take on greater responsibility for migration management, one of the main challenges remains that of guaranteeing people on the move adequate and dignified reception conditions


Film Festivals, from Sarajevo to Pesaro

06/09/2024 -  Anna Lodeserto

Anniversaries of two film festivals from two sides of the Adriatic Sea - Pesaro and Sarajevo. A cultural exchange focused on cinema, cities and music from a youth perspective


Ado Hasanović: Art and Culture in Shaping the Future of Srebrenica

11/07/2024 -  Anna Lodeserto

Ado Hasanović, a director of Bosnian origin living in Italy, interviewed on his way back from Cannes, talks about his next projects, which also directly involve his Srebrenica. An interview


Western Balkans: Europe's future mining colony?

28/06/2024 -  Sanja Mlađenović StevićAleksandar Samardjiev

Are the Western Balkans becoming a mine of raw materials needed for the upcoming “green revolution”? Civil society organisations and many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia answer resolutely: NO! The battle to protect the environment and health continues


Herzegovina's Wine Renaissance

27/05/2024 -  Ian Bancroft

In Herzegovina, native grape varieties like Blatina, Trnjak, and Žilavka lead a resurgence in the vinicultural landscape. Historical depth merges with the innovation of new producers, crafting a distinctive terroir and driving global ambitions in Herzegovina's evolving wine industry


‘Luka’, a Tale of War, Justice and Forgiveness (2)

20/05/2024 -  Ian Bancroft*

This is the second of two extracts from Ian Bancroft’s new novel, which tells of lives scarred by wars past and present, whose main characters - L., U., K., and A. - are confronted with the dilemmas of truth and justice, and the struggle to reconcile and forgive


BiH, the public service on the brink of collapse

17/05/2024 -  Darko Kurić Sarajevo

The public service in Bosnia and Herzegovina is in increasingly dire straits. In the absence of real reform, the lack of a sustainable financing mechanism has caused tensions to explode between two of the three public broadcasters


A long and harsh path to citizenship: interview with Elvira Mujčić

30/04/2024 -  Nicole Corritore

Writer, translator from Bosnian to Italian, Elvira Mujčić arrived in Italy when she was 14 years old, escaping the war. Today she is an Italian and Bosnian citizen: a long, almost Kafkaesque journey of dual citizenship that only the support of the community of the country that welcomed her has made more bearable


Afan, between asphalt and grass

10/04/2024 -  Lidija Pisker

Being a factory town best known for its steel mill and polluted air, Zenica is probably not the first place you would want to visit in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But the socialist face of Zenica and the nature that surrounds it is becoming more and more interesting for tourists, thanks to one young enthusiastic tour guide


Ćerimagić: Regional cooperation to be linked to EU membership

11/03/2024 -  Gentiola Madhi

The EU has invested considerable efforts in stimulating regional cooperation in the Balkans over the last decades, yet the results are questionable. Which are the reasons behind such slow progress and where does Bosnia and Herzegovina stand? We talked about it with Adnan Ćerimagić analyst at ESI


BiH: civic mobilisation against mineral exploration

22/01/2024 -  Darko Kurić Sarajevo

The exploitation of natural resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina causes indignation among citizens and numerous environmental protection associations. Geological research, the opening of new and the reactivation of old mines threaten basic human rights and the environment


Trieste, last stop: becoming adults along the Balkan route

03/01/2024 -  Sara Varcounig Balbi

Trieste, a border city, is the last stop on the Balkan route. In 2023 the data recorded an increase in the arrivals of unaccompanied minors. What does it mean to grow up along the Balkan route? What happens once in Trieste? An analysis


Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU, Dodik is working against the integration process

08/11/2023 -  Massimo Moratti

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik once again attacks the EU, accusing it of applying double standards to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the integration path. But Dodik's own initiatives, which limit freedom of association and expression, are distancing the country from the European Union


BiH: Republika Srpska reintroduces the crime of defamation

24/07/2023 -  Arman Fazlić Sarajevo

On Thursday 20 July, the People's Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code envisaging criminalization of defamation. Calls from international and local actors to protect freedom of speech and withdraw the controversial provision that qualifies defamation as a criminal offence have gone unheeded


A long way to go: the Western Balkans and the green transition

15/06/2023 -  Marilen Martin

To eventually access the European Union, the Western Balkans have to align their legislation with EU law. This includes the Green Deal, which commits countries to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, there’s still quite a long way to go for the Western Balkans in their progress towards the green transition


Edina Bećirević, the divisions of Bosnia Herzegovina and the paradox of Ukraine

12/06/2023 -  Francesco Martino Sarajevo

The start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, paradoxically, may have avoided a new open confrontation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is one of the reflections by Edina Bećirević, a professor at the University of Sarajevo and an expert on Russian influence in the Western Balkans. An interview


The Žitna lađa, traditions along the Kupa

31/08/2023 -  Giovanni Vale

Through entrepreneurial initiative, Ana and Jasmina have managed to bring back to life a story – that of river navigation – which involves different territories. The last episode of our report dedicated to the Kupa


Bosnia and Herzegovina: a conference to discuss the Constitution and European integration

21/04/2023 - 

The international conference "Bosnia and Herzegovina: Constitution and EU Accession", which concluded the international project within the CEI Know-how Exchange Program, financed by the CEI Fund (EBRD), was held on April 12, 2023 in ceremonial hall of the University of Sarajevo


Republika Srpska, the criminalisation of defamation and the squeeze on media freedom

28/03/2023 -  Arman Fazlić Sarajevo

The parliament of Republika Srpska approved in the first instance a bill to amend the criminal code which reintroduces the crime of defamation. Now sixty days of public debate and then back to the assembly. A dangerous step backwards for freedom of expression


1917: a Bosnian minaret in the Dolomites?

04/05/2023 -  Marco Abram

Thousands of Bosnian soldiers served in the Austro-Hungarian ranks during the First World War. Now a project uncovers and recounts their traces in Trentino


SLAPPs in Bosnia and Herzegovina

23/02/2023 -  Arman Fazlić Sarajevo

Also in Bosnia and Herzegovina one of the major obstacles to the exercise of the journalistic profession is represented by the so-called SLAPPs, lawsuits seeking to silence or limit the work of journalists and civil rights activists


Time is running out for war crimes prosecution in Bosnia

20/12/2022 -  Massimo Moratti

“A race against time” is the title of a recent report by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) highlighting the delays in implementation of the country’s strategy for war crimes prosecution. The risk is to see the process prolonged for a number of years. While the completion of those trials was a top priority for the country only 15 years ago, it has now become hostage to political tensions in Bosnia


Bosnia and Herzegovina, experiments in deliberative democracy

01/10/2022 -  Serena Epis

An assembly of citizens in BiH has proposed a way out of the age-old problem of constitutional reform, pending for years after the Sejdic-Finci ruling of 2009. An interview with Nenad Stojanovic


Srebrenica: denial in the European public narrative

11/07/2022 -  Marco Siragusa

Almost thirty years after the genocide we are very far from starting a dialogue and a public discussion – in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Europe – on the memory of what happened in Srebrenica. An interview with Andrea Rizza Goldstein


Alexander Langer and Bosnia: a book and an educational project

13/07/2022 -  Sabina Langer *Giulia Levi

In the 1990s Alexander Langer, a South Tyrolean politician and MEP, devoted a great deal of effort to seeking peaceful solutions to the conflict in Bosnia. His writings have now been translated into Bosnian and will be the core of meetings for young people on human rights, ecology, and activism