Youth Power united with eight partner high schools from Mostar on the global campaign “16 days of activism” with a street action called “Orange the world” which took place on December 10, 2021. on the streets of Mostar. The aim of this action was to raise the awareness of citizens about the importance of this global campaign and its significance, which is the prevention of violence against women and the prevention of all forms of violence.
Volunteers and students marched through the streets of Mostar wearing orange T-shirts, umbrellas and balloons in an effort to raise citizens’ awareness of the problem of violence around the world. The last location was the Old Bridge where young people released hundreds of orange balloons into the air.
“We are all responsible as a society when it comes to violence, and we should all react when we see violence and work to prevent it” is the main message of this action that young people wanted to send to the public.
After the street action, volunteers from Youth Power and “Be Man Club Mostar” members had the opportunity to participate in the creative workshop “How to exclude sexual violence” organized by UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina. Youngsters from Be Men Club Mostar had the opportunity to share their long-term work on violence prevention, changing attitudes and creating a safe and gender-equal environment through educational activities they organize.
David Saunders, UN Women Representative, welcomed all the youngsters, especially young men, who are ready to take an active role in the fight against sexual violence and the fight for gender equality.
“The future of society in Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the hands of young people who have the opportunity to change the attitudes and reactions of their environment, and who can decide whether they want to create a society without prejudice, stigma and violence,” – said Saunders
Every year, Youth Power regularly organizing various street actions and online campaigns for global campaign “16 days of activism”. In addition to the street action that they organized and the educational workshops that they attended, in cooperation with the association “Women of BiH”, they made a video that presents the stories of two women. The story of a woman who survived violence and the story of a woman who did not survive violence. Each of them answered questions related to the topic of violence against women, their perspectives and experiences. You can watch the video at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAyfOvdXgFs
The activity was realized within the project Young Men Initiative III (YMI): “Promoting healthier lifestyles among young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina by challenging gender stereotypes III”, which is supported by the Government of Switzerland, OAK Foundation, Austrian Development Agency and CARE International Bosnia and Herzegovina.
