Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) Project Report – February 2026

ON-GOING PROGRAMME

  • Culture and Art Diversity around the World – Includes Language, Art&Crafts, Music, Drama, and Sports workshops from Monday to Friday (4-14)
    • Standard and Conversational Language workshops – English, German
      • I love English – English workshops for 15-30
      • “Lasstuns Deutsch sprechen!/Pričajmo njemački!“ (Let’s speak German) – German workshops for 15-30
    • Music workshops – samba, guitar for 15-30
         

       

      HIGHLIGHTS ON THE MONTH’S ACTIVITIES

      • This past month has been exceptionally busy as we engaged with children and young people through a variety of activities and learning experiences. Each day presented unique challenges, and our dedicated team provided support while closely observing the participants’ progress. As part of our “Mind Over Screens” initiative, we conducted the Mind Over Screens Local Training for Trainers, which included Modules 1, 2, and 3. This interactive training session attracted participants from Brčko, who enhanced their understanding of essential topics such as Digital Citizenship, Online Ethics, Critical Media Consumption, Online Safety, and Privacy Protection. Through dynamic discussions and practical examples, attendees explored the importance of fairness, respect, and responsibility in online interactions, while also learning to identify digital risks and safeguard their personal data. We also welcomed a new volunteer from Germany, who joined our team, bringing fresh perspectives, creativity, and innovative ideas. With both international and local volunteers joining forces, February was buzzing with motivation—from our regular daily programs to the development of new activities and future plans. Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia) international volunteers also engaged in various daily activities, focusing on different initiatives such as supporting online events and promoting the organization through social media.
      • In February, approximately 142 participants regularly took part in Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia) activities. Participants were aged between 4 and 30 years old. The youngest and the oldest participants attended Culture and Art Diversity around the World workshops and English/German conversational workshops.
        • Younger group – They did different types of drawing and colouring, talked about Incas, Bedouins, Highlanders, Maoris, and learned about snails, giraffes, and spiders. At creative workshops, they made various decorations and ornaments, and learned about various musical instruments. Participants continued to learn and write numbers; this month, they learned to write numbers from 19-21. They performed warm-up exercises and children’s yoga, and every Thursday, they danced, participated in sports, and worked on maintaining focus and concentration while reading and listening to stories (Aladdin and His Wonderful Journeys, Alice in Wonderland, Heidi). In the English, German, and Turkish language workshops, they learned vocabulary related to family, spiders, musical instruments and nature. All workshops employ an educational visual method utilizing pictures and videos; these informal educational sessions aim to foster creativity, memory, motor skills, empathy, socialization, and tolerance for diversity. The highlight with the younger group was a workshop on social justice, where they created numerous drawings about the right to education, the right to love, the right to play, and more. Through their artwork and creative slogans, they expressed what these values mean to them, making the learning experience both meaningful and enjoyable.
        • Older group –They covered the following topics: social justice, digital citizenship and online ethics, native language, and the Film Festival in Berlin. In this way, we aim to offer young people a safe and neutral environment where they can share their opinions and express both positive and negative emotions without fear of judgment. During the Language Workshops, the group focused on practicing everyday communication, reading and translating short texts and phrases, working on grammar, completing school assignments, and engaging in projects. The highlight for the older group was a workshop for International Mother Language Day, when participants explored the richness of Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian, reflecting on how language connects identity, tradition, and community. They shared thoughts about the coexistence of the Latin and Cyrillic scripts and how both alphabets represent an important part of cultural heritage.

MUSIC PROJECTS

  • The Samba group continued working on a new composition, focusing on incorporating the bass guitar into the existing arrangement.
  • The coordinator co-created the workshop content with the younger participants. Activities were conducted in pairs or small groups using musical instruments. Participants also continued to practice individual rhythm maintenance, working separately in sections on different melodies.

VOLUNTEERS

  • In February, Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) greatly appreciated the collaboration with two international volunteers from Germany.
  • Three volunteers from Bosnia are doing their service in Germany and Italy (11-12 months).
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