Organised by CNA and the informal group „PlatForMir”, the first Peacebuilding Training for Students from BiH was held from 31 July to 5 August 2015. This new concept of training, both in terms of its target group and its focus, originated from the CNA Training for Trainers in Peacebuilding and the idea to do something constructive with a focus on students because of their future potential as the academic citizens of tomorrow and the main stakeholders of all future processes in BiH.
Since this was the first time the training was being organised, the training team had a very complex task to design and structure the training so as to meet the needs and capacities of the group, which we could only guess at based on their applications. Due to the large number of cancellations, there were concerns about the dynamics of the concept as initially envisioned, but it ultimately turned out that the group “clicked” very well and that there was strong closeness and cohesion within the group from the very start. They all came together with incredible motivation to work and share their personal stories. The different backgrounds of the participants combined with common student solidarity and cohesion turned out to be very constructive when working on difficult topics such as dealing with the past. Despite our concerns that due to the strong cohesion, there would be less readiness for confrontation, a huge safe space was opened up for the expression of honest opinions without judgement, which was one of the main objectives of this activity: training for real situations they might confront in the world outside the safe training space, active examination of their roles in the external world, developing critical and self-critical thinking, and a positive step forward for BiH society that issues from being sensitive to others and their needs. The briefness of the training (4 days) imposed a very busy and quick tempo, which turned out to be a bit too much, so the dynamics would drop at certain points, but sometimes the workshops would spill over into free time. At the beginning, there was a need for the classical lecture-style approach and ready-made solutions that the student population has become accustomed to, but when they realised it could be done differently, the participants had a very good response to the interactive method we employed, often pointing out that their previous experience does not come even close to the dynamics and results we were able to achieve. This got us thinking about who is it that serves up solutions to young people, and who has the right to decide in their name? The diverse training team, made up of experienced trainers, including a war veteran, which turned out to be a strong position with powerful influence on students, and trainers from the TfT who formed strong bonds with the participants, had a powerful impact on the dynamics of the training. Although not initially planned, due to the developments during the training, the possibility came up to continue such activities with the student population as a target group that is in dire need of constructive action. The location of the training also had a in important impact on the dynamics. Hotel Lavina fulfilled all our expectations, we commend the staff and spaces, hoping to cooperate again in the future.
Dalmir Mišković
