Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) Project Report – May 2025

Staff: Gordana Varcaković, Dina Vošanović, Sanjin Vošanović, Miloš Popić

Local volunteers: Eldar Bešić, Amna Balija, Aida Slomić, Edna Čorbadžić, Lamija Tokić, Valentina Perić

‘Weltwärts’ volunteers: Ada Gabriela Groneick, Paula Scholz

‘ESC’ volunteers: –

      

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 month, the weather was quite changeable, so we had a mix of outdoor and indoor activities. Every day, from music jam sessions to art, brought something new and inspiring. Participants finalized decorations, costumes, and rehearsals, and as we approached the end of the month, the excitement for the Spring Event that will take place in the first week of June grew every day. The Svitac team marked several significant international days, including International Day of Families, International Day of Living Together in Peace, World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, and World Bee Day. The World Bee Day workshop was particularly interesting to the youngest participants. Even at a young age, children can show deep empathy for the world around them. They notice when someone is sad, when animals are hurt, or when nature is damaged. This pure, honest concern showed that children naturally care about the bees and the environment in their own way—and that empathy might be our best hope for a better future. International volunteers have been doing a lot of different daily activities and they focused on different things (e.g. supporting online activities, promotion of the organization through social media).
    • About 145 participants regularly attended Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia’s) activities in May. 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 talked about plants, the sun, flowers, various animals, warm and cold colours, and dragons in the wind. The youngest participants enjoyed the creative part and modelling fun items (e.g. binoculars, colourful lemonade glasses, fish, ducks, bees as bracelets and crowns, parrots, pandas and wind chimes). The group continued with practicing rhythms, rehearsing songs, and dance choreographies. The participants continued learning the Cyrillic alphabet and practising writing the letters З, И, and Ж (Z, I, Ž) and simple words in Cyrillic. They did warm-up exercises and yoga for children, and every Thursday, they danced, did sports, and practiced staying focused and concentrating while reading and listening to stories (Tinker Bell etc.). In the English, German, and Turkish language workshops they learned words related to colours, summer clothing, hobbies, house and garden. All workshops are implemented with an educational visual method with pictures and video; informal educational workshops aim to develop creativity, memory, motor skills, empathy, socialization, and tolerance for diversities. The highlight with the younger group was the workshop for the International Day of Families, when they talked about the importance of family in their lives.
      • Older group –  They discussed the following topics: democracy, living together in peace, beauty of diversity, equal education and modern aqua parks (do we really need them). In this way, we want to provide young people with a safe and neutral space, where they can express their opinions and express positive and negative emotions, without fear of condemnation. In the Language Workshops, the group worked on practising everyday communication, reading and translating short texts, phrases, grammar, school homework, and interesting projects. The highlight with the older group was the interactive workshop for the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, when they explored the beauty of diversity and learn how understanding others brings us closer together.

ESC, WELTWARTS AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS’ PROGRAMMES

  • In May, Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) very much appreciated the collaboration with 2 international volunteers from Germany.
  • Sending ESC and ‘Weltwärts’ – Three volunteers from Bosnia are doing their service in Germany and Belgium (12 months).

MEETINGS and PRESENTATIONS

  • Svitac’s (Firefly in Bosnia’s) staff continued to attend regular monthly meetings with the youth centre coordinator and the other NGOs based in Brčko. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss conditions and schedules for the continuation of centre activities.
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Activities, news, Project Report