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Home 
OrganizationEFP-BalkansOverview - Constitution - History - Program
reach - Partners - Impact
History
Since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords which ended the war in 1995, a process of social, economic and political recovery has been taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This process, mainly led by the international community, has channeled financial and technical assistance into the main areas of the physical and, to a lesser extent, psychosocial and educational reconstruction of the country and its peoples. In spite of these efforts, many challenges remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, indeed, in the entire Balkan region. The underlying prejudice and tension between groups remain widespread and continues to erupt in acts of violence against each other, threatening to destabilize the region. In Bosnia itself, extreme nationalism has not yet been excised from the body politics. Broadly speaking, a culture of peace has not yet been established.
In this context, in September 2000, Dr. H.B. Danesh (website: HBDanesh.org), former president and professor of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies at Landegg International University (LIU), initiated a community-based, intensive program of Education for Peace (EFP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A 24-person on-site faculty comprised of eighteen Bosnian teachers and six individuals from the EFP Program of LIU, under guidance from the EFP senior faculty, facilitated the implementation of the Project. The initial two-year pilot program of EFP was implemented in six schools in three cities (Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Travnik), representing the three main ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniak, Croat, and Serb). The project involved approximately 6,000 students, 400 school staff (teachers, administrators, support staff) and 10,000 parents and guardians. The selected schools served populations that ranged from the elite and materially advantaged to internally displaced persons, orphans and direct victims of the recent war.
As a result of this pilot project, the Education for Peace program has received full recognition and support from the BiH government, local communities and the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a year of operation, teachers, students and government leaders requested that the program be introduced throughout the country. In response, starting in September 2003, the program is being extended to 100 schools across BiH and initiated in other communities worldwide.
