10 YEARS OF SARAJEVO OPEN CENTRE IMPRESSUM Title: 10 Years of Sarajevo Open Centre Editor: Masha Durkalić Editorial Board: Emina Bošnjak, Vladana Vasić Authors: Emina Bošnjak, Vladana Vasić, Dina Vilić, Lejla Huremović, Selma Kešetović, Saša Gavrić, Amar Bašić, Tamara Zablocki, Jozo Blažević, Inela Hadžić, Jasmina Čaušević, Kristi- na Ljevak, Edita Miftari, Nikola Kuridža, Maida Zagorac, Nera Mešinović, Azem Kurtić Language Editor: Sandra Zlotrg Translation into English: Context od Layout and Cover: Aleksandra Nina Knežević Illustrations: Vanja Lazić Publisher: Sarajevo Open Centre, www.soc.ba For the Publisher: Emina Bošnjak © Sarajevo Open Centre Non-commercial copying, photocopying, or any other reproduction of this publication in whole or in part is desirable as long as the publisher is informed thereon in writing at [email protected]. This publication is supported by the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The views and opinions presented in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the donor. The authors are solely responsible for their respective texts. Special thanks to: Saša Gavrić, Arijana Aganović, Damir Banović, Marinha Barreiro, Marina Jovović, Maja Lukić-Schade, Feđa Bobić, Aida Spahić, Elmaja Bavčić, Naida Kučukalić, Marina Veličković, Darko Pandurević, Delila Hasanbegović, Liam Isić, Rasim Ibrahimagić, Marie Bergstrom, Pia Hallonsten, Jonathan Francis, Dobrila Govedarica, Mervan Miraščija, Mirela Grunther-Đečević, Marion Kraske and the entire HBS team, Vibeke Lilloe, Guri Rusten, Anne Havnor, Ognjen Grujić, Željka Vojinović, Bryan Wockley, Ante Miliša, Edin Gurda, Matthew Kelly, Peter Duffy, Steven Majors, Dražena Peranić, Haris Lokvančić, Jurriaan Kraak, Mak Kapetanović, Fatima Krivošija, Yvette Szepesi, Judith Illerhues, Marius Mueller-Hennig, Merima Alić-Ejubović, Mary-Ann Hennessy, Fermin Cordoba, Namita Chad, Evelyne Paradis, Lilit Poghosyan, Olaf Deussen, Zora Stanić, Branka Bajić, Umerr Al-Khatib, Thomas Busch, Azra Salihbašić-Selimović, Ranka Katalinski, Zuhra Kalauzović, Jadranka Miličević and the CURE Foundation team, Memnuna Zvizdić and Women to Women, Cana and Forum of Women Bratunac, Dragana Dardić and the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly BL, Zilka Spahić- Šiljak, Mersida Mešetović, Meliha Lekić, Dajana Bakić, Selma Kešetović and Tuzla Open Centre, Goran Zorić, Branko Ćulibrk and Association Kvart, Dražana Lepir and Oštra nula, LibertaMo, QSport ekipa, OKC Abrašević, Kriterion team, Borka Rudić, Ljiljana Zurovac, Danijela Dugandžić-Živanović, Andreja Dugandžić and Crvena, Adela Jušić, Snježana Ivandić Ninković, Darko Brkan, Tijana Cvjetićanin and Zašto ne? team, Svetlana Cenić, Halisa Skopljak, Saša Bojanić, Lejla Somun-Krupalija, Saša Madacki and Human Rights Centre (Library) team, Danijela Majstorović, Lejla Turčilo, Vanja Matić, Zlatiborka Popov-Momčinović, Dženana Karup-Druško, Slobodanka Dekić and Mediacentar team, Marija Lučić-Čatić, Kristina Ljevak, Marija Arnautović, Vildana Selimbegović, Ljiljana Pepović, Adnan Kadribašić, Adrijana Hanušić-Bećirović, Boris Krešić, Fedra Idžaković, Gordan Bosanac, Adis Arapović, Emina Abrahamsdotter , Esther Garcia Fransioli, Hana Stojić, Amila Ždralović, Mirela Rožajac-Zulčić, Sadžida and Sumeja Tulić, Alma Mašić, Nina Šeremet and the entire YIHR team, Amar Numanović, Edita Miftari, Jakov Čaušević, Ena Bavčić, Latifa Imamović, Selma Spahić, Admir Jugo, Damir Imamović, Haris Pašović, Jasmila Žbanić, Duška Jurišić, Damir Arsenijević, Tobias Flessenkemper, Lamija Begagić, Emina Žuna, Jadranka Ćuzulan, Mirza Halilčević, Irfan Redžović, Hainsija, Filip Andronik, Bojana Đokanović, Fabio Giomi, Zlatan Delić, Šejla Šehabović, Elma Hašimbegović, Sandra Zlotrg, Ivana Dračo, Azem Kurtić, Aida Vežić, Aida Kalender, Nenad Veličković, Nebojša Jovanović, Maja Kaljanac, Berina Džemailović, Sadžida Hadžić, Dajana Cvjetković, Vesna Pirija, Amira Hasanović, Maida Salkanović, Bojana Vasić, Izudin Karić, Hana Ćurak, Matej Vrebac, Damir Prljača, Tanja Grabovac, all participants of Žarana Papić School of Feminism, Nina Đikić, Jelena Svirčić, Leila Šeper, Nermina Trbonja, Đermana Šeta, Bojan Krivokapić, Asja Bakić, Lejla Mušić, Dženita Hrelja-Hasečić, Maida Ćehajić, Miroslav Živanović, Tijana Okić, Ajla Demiragić, Gorana Mlinarević, Nela Porobić, Nejra Nuna Čengić, Amar Bašić, Tarik Limo, Goran Miletić, Adriana Zaharijević, Hana Ćopić, Predrag Azdejković, Natalija Petrić, Slovoljupka Pavlović, Sonja Lokar, Karolina Leaković, Damir Arnaut, Maja Gasal-Vražalica, Alma Kratina, Jasna Duraković-Hadžiomerović, Dennis Gratz, Damir Mašić, Saša Magazinović, Ismeta Dervoz, Besima Borić, Sabina Ćudić, Predrag Kojović, Mario Nenadić, Ana Babić, Borislav Bojić, Mirsad Isaković, Emina Jahić, Davorin Semenik, Anđelka Dobrilović, Lucija Vujica-Novaković, Samra Filipović-Hadžiabdić, Mirjana Lukač, Ana Vuković, Gender Equality Agency and Gender Centres teams, Jasminka Džumhur and the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH, especially the team of the Department for Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, Josip Bilandžija, Čustović Elmedina, and Radoslav Marjanović. We would also like to thank our supporters, associates, partners and donors who have supported us and made possible the ten years of successes of Sarajevo Open Centre, as well as all our friends, both mentioned and unmentioned! September 2017. FOREWORD | SOC | 3 LOOKING INTO THE PAST AND HOPING FOR THE FUTURE SOC SHOULD STICK AROUND for at Least Another Ten Years Author: Masha Durkalić I am one of those people easily affected by the passage of time. I feel ambushed by each birthday, each anniversary makes me pensive. I was stunned when Emina Bošnjak told me during one of SOC’s community events that SOC will be celebrating its tenth anniversary at the end of 2017. I didn’t really think about the longevity of SOC, nor did I take note of how quickly time has passed. SOC could have been founded yesterday for all I knew. In my mind it has been here forever, and the years simply flew by me, unnoticed. Ten years is an entire era. I will briefly go back to the fall of 2010 when I first started working with SOC. One day I got an email from Saša Gavrić. He introduced himself and proposed we meet up for drinks so we could discuss our potential collaboration. Back then, as a young journalist I mostly covered stories related to culture, but I had started writing about human rights, especial- ly the rights of women and the LGBTI population. We met up, had a few drinks and talked. And that was it. Never before or after did I have such an easy time striking up a collaboration. It’s the longest and the most fruitful collaboration on my CV. And it’s still going strong. Now, after ten years of work, I have been given the honour to serve as editor for a publication commemorating the tenth anniversary of SOC. It’s hard for me to look at SOC and its team from a strictly professional point of view. Many of them are my friends, people I can trust. We get to share many things – from frustrations related to our activism and advo- cacy work, problems with cats we pick up on the street and foster until they are adopted, to protesting on the streets of Sarajevo for our human rights. SOC has never been just an NGO that pays for my services, but rather a group of people with whom I go out for coffee and drinks, dance, discuss new ideas and projects and talk about the situation in our society. SOC is one of those tiny cracks in our dark social reality that lets in light. Their dedication and effort to achieve their goals is an example to us all. I also have to mention their meticulously fostered, impeccable professional standard. It is rare to find such professionalism and dedication in a society plagued by mediocrity and lacklustre (at best) efforts in all spheres of life – from cleaning one’s own backyard to adopting policies. Rarely do we take to the streets and march in protest, yet SOC is one of the rare NGOs that gives us the opportunity to do so. Rarely do we have laws amended to benefit those who need changes in legislation, yet SOC is an organisation that pur- sues these changes until they actually happen. Rarely do we publically call out people who fail to do their job, or contaminate public space with their discriminatory views or phobias, yet SOC is an organisation that continues to publically condemn behaviour of this sort. Over the past ten years, SOC has managed to find its modus operandi, adopting practices and strategies geared towards fulfilling the set objectives. The SOC team will definitely invite you to their press conference three times, they’ll proofread a text five times before publishing it, and they will certainly hold politicians accountable and try to establish dialogue with those politicians and decision makers who were oblivious to issues such as LGBTI rights in the past. Fur- 4 | SOC | FOREWORD thermore, SOC has always tried to be as supportive as possible by providing help to other non-govern- mental organisations or providing psychological counselling for LGBTI people who rarely have access to psychological assistance or don’t even know it’s available to them. As an activist I believe SOC has made several key contributions to activism in BiH. The series of talks and lectures titled Neko je rekao feminizam? has provided valuable insight into feminist topics and pa- triarchy, while exhibitions dedicated to women such as Laura Papo Bohoreta and Razija Handžić have given the public a rare opportunity to learn more about