Sibel Gutiq

This training helped me learn and understand more about myself and the people around me.
Pristina, Kosovo

I’ve been participating in various trainings that helped my personal and professional development for a long time. But it was only at the age of 33 that I participated in a training like this one. I can say, without a doubt, that the Introduction to Peacebuilding training was the best I have ever attended. This training helped me get to know and understand myself better, as well as the people around me.

It helped me broaden my view, I came to see the positive sides as well as the shortcomings I have personally and that we generally have as a society. Although I am a peace-loving person by nature, through this training I brought awareness to my own prejudices, which I didn’t think I had.

The topics about violence, conflict, discrimination, gender roles, diversity, peacebuilding, dealing with the past, as well as many other topics about our role in society were handled with great care and professionalism during the training. The topics we dealt with through the exercises enabled the participants to be together irrespective of national, religious, etc. belonging, while through the defined roles, they enabled each of us to create empathy and understand each other better, breaking down the prejudice we may subconsciously carry.

The diversity of the participants made the training very lively. Even though I was the only representative of the Turkish-Kosovar community, the atmosphere that was created made me feel welcome and free to exchange my thoughts with the trainers and other participants – who were all wonderful people.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank the whole team for their dedication, patience and tireless work over the 10 days of the training, and to wish them further success in future projects that I would very much like to participate in :).

I would recommend including other minority – marginalised communities to make it more comprehensive.

Vanja Stokić

I made friends, but real friends. People I still meet up with and sometimes we go on trips together. But also, I saw first-hand that I have a lot in common with people who seem nothing like me. That pain isn’t just mine, that others also share it. It might sound...

Valentina Petra Eterović Buble

Now I’m strong. Now I know how.

Nataša Filipović

Meeting different people, learning about their experiences and ways of thinking can go a long way to help mutual understanding.

Sunčica Đukanović

If you want to express your views openly and receive founded and constructive criticism, as well as give it out without fear of being judged, then this training with professionals in peace education is the right choice for you and you won’t be wasting your time.

Darko Nestorov

It’s hard to describe the experience of the training, so I would recommend seeing it for yourself.

Gordana Jocić

Above all, I think a form has been found for learning about nonviolence that makes a strong and lasting impression on the participants.

Amina Kaja

I’ve been to many trainings, but none are like CNA.

Davor Obrdalj

I recommend the training to everyone, and I guarantee you won’t be the same again.

Ajša Tunović

A cathartic experience

Igor Drvendžija

…not to mention how memorable it is to share your stories with the rest of the group and often find understanding despite the fact that we come from different backgrounds.

Iva Baraba

This training is unique. There is nothing like it in our region that works towards peacebuilding with a similar approach. I participated in various seminars and study visits organised internationally, nationally and locally, but this training successfully brought together the issues facing our countries, the tools for dealing with them and the people for whom they matter!

Tamara Zečević

The Basic Training in Peacebuilding is something I recommend to everyone, whatever their profession, age or life experience. The training will give you an opportunity not just to see the bigger picture of the region and the country you live in, but also for some serious introspection…

Vanja Šunjić

When participants from previous trainings told me about how it had changed their lives, even though I believed them, I could not fathom how a ten-day training could really do that.

Slađana Popović Šipka

I’d like to point out that one of the things I said during the training was “I’d like us to be able to travel without fear, for me to come from Banja Luka to Bugojno and have coffee with Naima, and for her to do the same and come visit me.” Thanks to this training, my wish came true.

Anisa Pračić-Šehić

I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to push their own and then our collective social boundaries.

Omer Muminović

If I had to sum up the training in one word, it would be courage.

Edo Kanlić

If you want to experience catharsis, sign up for the training. Don’t take it lightly, it’s a serious endeavour. It’ll turn your experiences, beliefs and emotions upside down. Even five days after the training, I’m still trying to put together everything I experienced during those 10 days. Without wanting to sound pretentious, I will say that the training made me a better person. So go ahead, sign up!

Sunita Dautbegović Bošnjaković

There will definitely be an exchange of opinions, every participant will be afforded respect, there will be mutual listening, as well as mutual criticism and self-criticism. This means opening up topics that are painful and that we often “sweep under the rug”, but that prevent us from embarking on a constructive process of dealing with the past and building our societies on the values of peace.

Branislav Trudić

For years, this training has been true to the essence of peace education – providing support in creating a safe group atmosphere where many will engage for the first time in their lives in an empathy-based learning experience about the war and post-war past. I have nothing but words of praise for the inclusive segment of the training, both in terms of selecting participants of different profiles and in terms of enabling the participants to follow the entirety of the training in all the regional languages.

Emina Šehić

I would say my experience can be summed up as follows: being myself, peace and listening. Participating in this training allowed me to be myself for the first time, to talk and express my opinions the way I feel them, without fearing they would be judged. This brought on a sense of peace that […]

Martina Barešić

…what had the biggest impact on me were the personal stories of all the people at the training. They enriched this entire training and gave everything an emotional dimension that is sorely needed in working on reconciliation and dealing with the past.

Mirsad Dreić

Even ten years later, the training leaves a strong impression of awakened awareness and understanding of others.

Sibel Gutiq

This training helped me learn and understand more about myself and the people around me.

Žarko Stanimirović

If CNA ever invites you to attend their training, RUN to fill out the application form and hope you’ll be selected, because there’s strong competition. All you need to bring along is an open mind and a desire to socialise, and you won’t regret it.

Sara Velaga

I’ll remember this training as some of the happiest days in my life, because I felt complete, purified, aware and in touch with my emotions throughout the 10 days. I never had an extended family, but during the time we spent together, I found out that a family can be completely different people.

Valon Kuci

During the training, I also realised I shouldn’t feel lonely because I have a lot of friends who think this way.

Teodora Sokolovska

I’ll never forget the enthusiasm of the trainers in transferring their knowledge, experiences and exercises. It wasn’t new for me, it just made me remember that all people carry within them different stories, different burdens and different baggage, and that we can learn something from everyone…

Ajdin Kamber

We sifted through our feelings, traumas, memories… How is it possible for schoolmates, neighbours, friends, even brothers, to become mortal enemies overnight. I got part of the answer at the training organised by the Centre for Nonviolent Action in Ulcinj.