FIREFLY BOSNIA

Firefly Youth Project, Bosnia, has been handed over to local management in Brčko, and our programmes of youth work and on-going arts-based reconcilation projects will continue there under the locally registered name, Svitac.

Firefly Bosnia's current projects include:
- General running of activities in the youth centre - a safe, fun environment with computer games, table tennis, a library, magazines and support staff.
- Language classes.
- Summer camps (jointly with Firefly International).
- International Arts Festival (jointly with Firefly International).
- Children's day - a day of activities for children from throughout Brcko District. - The annual New Year's children's party.
- Music projects, including piano and guitar lessons and a samba band.
- A variety of projects run by our youth volunteers, a group of 14 - 18 year olds that we support in setting up and co-ordinating their own activities.

Introduction to Firefly's Bosnia projects:

Firefly Youth Project was established in February 1998 in order to fill the need for reconciliatory youth work in Brčko, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a small organisation, and registered Scottish charity, that aims to encourage reconciliation and communication amongst young people living in separated areas and communities in Bosnia. This aim is achieved through educational and recreational activities.

Firefly Bosnia runs activities in the youth centre in Brčko all year round. These allow our staff to work with young people of all ethnic groups and organise activities between them. The activities include drama, music, language tuition, art, photography and the production of a youth magazine. In addition the centre provides a neutral space, which is open daily to young people of all backgrounds. We also co-ordinate two annual community festivals, attended by participants from throughout the former Yugoslavia as well as from Britain. Finally, each year we run summer holiday camps for children from all over the former Yugoslavia.

Firefly's funding comes from volunteers, the public, camps participants (who help to cover the huge costs of each years' summer camps) and fundraising carried out by our voluntary UK staff.

For more information about Firefly's Bosnia projects, including pictures and descriptions of previous years' camps, please go to www.fireflybosnia.org

Please click here for more information about applying to volunteer at the summer camps in August.

Read about Firefly's Bosnia projects in Playing for their lives, an article by Louise Rimmer in the Scotland on Sunday's 'Spectrum' magazine

Photos of Firefly's 2000 music camp in Caroline Irby's photography portfolio