Office of Transition Initiatives BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA RESILIENCE INITIATIVE (BHRI) QUARTERLY REPORT (FY 2018 QIV, JULY I – SEPTEMBER 30 2018)

I. Context

Quarterly Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and other countries in the Quick Facts Western Balkan region continue to face major challenges, including socioeconomic gridlock, perceived corruption within a 18 Cleared Grants wide range of sectors, unresolved legacies from the 1990’s conflicts, and youth disenfranchisement. At the same time, a hardening of positions across communities along ethnic lines 1 Completed Grant limits the ability of key decision makers to respond to challenges with solutions that benefit all members of society. These and 0 Closed Grants other factors have created a conducive environment for the proliferation of fundamentalist extremist ideologies across the $ 8,266,873 Balkan region, where small, yet vocal and active groups have developed around these ideologies. This has led to an increase Total Amount Obligated in different forms of violent extremism (VE), both ethnic and religious in nature, placing already precarious intra-community 16,741 relations in BiH, post-war arrangements and, ultimately, peaceful Total Planned Beneficiaries coexistence in the country and the surrounding region at risk.

Areas of Operation According to numerous estimates, this reporting period has been Bijeljina Region marked by the highest number of irregular border crossings Brcko Distrikt through BiH and the region, which has the potential to undermine Central Bosnia Canton the country’s stability if the response to the migration crisis is not Herzegovina-Neretva Canton handled correctly. Incidentally, the elevated level of migration Prijedor Region coincides with BiH’s election campaign period for the general Sarajevo Canton elections in October 2018 and as such the migration issue has Trebinje Region been prone to political manipulation. Tuzla Canton In this context, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Resilience Initiative Una-Sana Canton (BHRI) implements small grants to deliver high-impact West Herzegovina Canton programming designed to reduce the threat of violent extremism Zenica-Doboj Canton in BiH and counter extremist efforts to deepen or exploit communal tensions.BHRI aims to: increase community resilience to radicalization and recruitment by violent extremist actors; to dilute and disrupt the influence of radical narratives; and to support institutional and community actors able to mitigate escalatory violence. This flexible, adaptive and focused approach promotes positive interactions between local authorities and communities and, in so doing, mitigates the drivers of VE and undermines recruitment efforts overall.

II. Project Updates

A total 33 activities were under implementation across BiH during the reporting period, with three highlighted below:

Youth Zones for Positive Environments: This activity contributes to reducing the salience of divisive messaging in Trebinje region and West Herzegovina Canton. In doing this, BHRI supports a local secondary school students’ organization in the creation of several youth zones around three cities which are used for various cultural events that amplify positive messages about ethnic diversity. By partnering with them, BHRI leverages the organization’s past successes in inspiring youth activism against ethnic segregation. The activity resulted in spreading positive messages about ethnic diversity to a wider audience and softening of the local pre-election polarized climate.

Amplifying Youth Voices through Community Media: This activity is strengthening an independent community media platform to produce and broadcast positive youth-focused messaging in Zenica- Doboj Canton, a region that is vulnerable to radicalizing influences. Supporting a local radio station with radio production equipment, innovative journalism training sessions, and supporting the production of youth-led local media content, the activity aims to offer alternative messaging that will have a beneficial impact on youth from the area, as listeners and as citizen journalists. Boosting the local youth media platform opened up space for young voices and positive narratives to be spread in the community and allowed young people to report and discuss the issues that affect them.

Stand-Up (Comedians) Against Youth Radicalization: The activity infuses youth-focused counter- narratives into the increasingly radical, divisive and extreme ethno-nationalist rhetoric in the pre-election period in BiH. By supporting a highly experienced and socially engaged local youth cultural center, BHRI supports the production of a multimedia, satirical roadshow that is performing in front of youth in 20 locations across BiH and broadcasting online. Following performances, the comedians also host discussions regarding the rhetoric and behavior often exhibited by public figures to get feedback from the audience. This activity caters to youth by offering them fun and satirical narratives that encourage them to think critically about the societal divisions presented by the political parties. The roadshow and discussions seek to disrupt and dilute discordant pre-election narratives that strengthen radicalizing ethno-nationalist platforms.

III. Programmatic Highlights

Action Research: Based on findings and inputs of BHRI’s previous research and program activities, three research initiatives including extensive fieldwork commenced in communities of intervention and communities of interest. The findings will provide local and contextualized understanding of potential drivers of VE at the community level through utilizing social science research methods. These research activities look into potential societal push and pull factors in specific communities where youth are susceptible to VE and factors related to communities’ gender dynamics. In addition to the benefits that the research has on the direct beneficiaries, all research activities are also intended to provide actionable evidence for current and future program design.

Internal Rolling Assessment: During this reporting period, an internal program rolling assessment was conducted which reviewed the program strategy including previous and existing activities in order to formulate conclusions about lessons learned, challenges, and successes. Engagement within different sectors such as sports, cultural events and youth centers was highlighted for discussion. The team developed further steps for engagement with stakeholders and choosing appropriate partners. The sensitivity of VE terminology was discussed in order to define the best possible naming conventions to avoid inadvertent counterproductive communications when reaching out to different interlocutors and target audiences.

Learning from Final Evaluation Reports: As part of the program’s regular monitoring and evaluation practices, the program’s first final evaluation reports (FER) were completed which focused on the activities’ achievements, challenges, impacts, sustainability and contribution to the program objectives. One of the FERs evaluated an entry level activity that developed sports facilities to engage youth. The findings showed that the activity was an effective avenue to introduce the program to the community and to ensure transparent communication amongst beneficiaries, partners, key stakeholders and BHRI staff. Another FER focused on a research activity which developed a network of contacts and interlocutors, potential partners, and possible grant opportunities and locations in order to amplify BHRI’s ability to meet objectives and expand its reach. Through practices such as FERs, BHRI continues to refine its activity design and implementation, and bolster its monitoring and evaluation.