Webinar on the occasion of 30 years Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1st March 2022 18h00 – 19h30 MEZ EU: Together for BiH!

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing today its biggest political and security crisis since the 1995 war, when the Dayton peace agreement was signed. After three decades there is a “very real” prospect of a return to conflict. The current political developments are a clear danger to Bosnia, its citizens, the region, and the entire EU. There is a cross-party understanding in the European Parliament of how dangerous the situation is becoming. The online conference aims to draw the attention to this crisis with the voices of politicians and with the voices of artists. In the reflection of the past and the reflection of the current situation, severe actions have to be taken. The European Union is playing a key role for the present and the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, till now the EU has failed to act according to its responsibility. What is the big picture behind the conflict? Did we learn from the past in order not to repeat history? Which new strategies are needed to change the current political development for the short-term future? And which one is needed for a long-term perspective in order to bring BiH closer to the EU and finally to its Membership? We have the honour to discuss all these questions together with HR Christian Schmidt, MEPs from different political groups and extraordinary artists such as the movie director Jasmila Žbanić, whose Oscar nominated film “Quo vadis, Aida” is not only a cinematic masterpiece, but a painful reminder of the Srebrenica genocide, the worst atrocity on European soil since World War II; Columbia University professor and bestseller author of Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, who wrote a very personal testimony on the strictures of survival with her book "The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival" and with the voices of the young artists Aldina Topcagic choreographer, performance artist and founder/director of Art Alive Culture Association and of Benjamin Čengić, street artist in Sarajevo and Founder of the Association Obojena Klapa, who are both fighting against hate-speech and the divisions in society and who want to reconcile between ethnic groups with their art. Please register under the following link. https://europarl-europa-eu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RBVnRqBAROCPIcB7G3uKqg Kind regards,