Project Movement 1325 – Belma’s valuable experience and practice for future profession

As a social work student at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo this project as well as the Movement 1325 has been an extremely valuable experience and practice for my future profession. Social workers for me oblige to respect, advocate for and uphold basic human rights as well as are committed to social justice and work to minimize discrimination and promote equity in this context of impartiality and fairness which is integrated with the principles of this exact Movement 1325. 

I want to shortly explain Resolution 1325 / UNSCR 1325 and how it's one of the most important resolutions ever adopted by the United Nations Security Council. This resolution laid the foundation for promoting women's participation in conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, and the protection of women from violence in conflict. Resolution 1325 was adopted on October 31, 2000, by the United Nations Security Council. Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the resolution on January 29, 2003, and ratified it on June 12, 2008.

As a member of the project I need to firstly explain the goal of the project Movement 1325 led by the Forgotten Children of War Association, which is to empower young women to overcome patriarchal barriers through the expansion and enhancement of leadership knowledge, and the participation of young women in shaping future peace processes and outcomes. Young women must both genuinely and effectively confront obstacles in understanding or accessing information and knowledge about transitional justice processes, peace negotiations, and political participation.

We started the project off with Camp 1325 where I was joined  with 10 girl's from across Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 heroines who have survived sexual violence during the war, and 3 regional activists, founders of the women's movement in the former Yugoslavia. This was an intergenerational space for dialogue which provided a space where we as participants collectively could  create our own opportunities for personal testimony and active listening in a supportive and safe environment that provides information and knowledge. We worked on project buildin as well which was very important for our other endeavors and future goals. 

After the camp, we had various workshops and seminars on femicide/feminicide, activism/human rights and women's economic empowerment. 

During the camp everything was documented and made into a film about the movement. We had a screening and a panel discussion where I wrote a speech and presented it to the public about my whole meaningful experience. Hopefully to help my community in deeping their sense of humanity and collectivism. The project though isn't over, in fact it's still in function and ready for more accomplishments. 

Belma Kobaš,
Faculty of Political Sciences, Social Work
University of Sarajevo