From August 2018 to April 2019, Association „Bosnian Handicrafts“ (BHCrafts) in cooperation with the Foundation Cultural Heritage without Borders Bosnia and Herzegovina (CHwB BiH) and Pravo Ljudski Film Festival will implement a project focused on youth and heritage.
Through various activities, the „Youth in Crafts“ project aims to present young people, among which a large number of unemployed, cultural heritage as an inspiration and source of economic development. Funding for this project was provided by the United States Government.
The project includes a workshop on social entrepreneurship, where through an example of the development of the BH Crafts Association, the participants will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and information about this topic. The Association BH Crafts exists more than 20 years and is one of the most successful examples of social entrepreneurship of this kind in BiH and abroad.
After the workshops, four young people who show the greatest interest in this topic will gain the opportunity for an internship in this association. They will have the chance to obtain additional knowledge and experience about social entrepreneurship and start-up businesses through an internship for several months.
Traditional crafts in BiH are valuable guardians of people’s way of living in this area. Under the influence of different factors, some crafts have disappeared. Today, different documents in archives and a few individuals maintain the memories of their existence.
With the purpose to preserve valuable knowledge and skills of traditional crafts for future generations, within this project valuable heritage will be documented through personal stories in audio and video form.
Additionally, young participants will be invited to take part in a nine-day film workshop during which they will have the opportunity to obtain important knowledge about the film and the importance of documenting the common heritage for the purpose of preserving it. During the workshops, the participants will produce their first films with professional mentoring.
Four films that will be produced during this workshop will record valuable goods from different parts of BiH, that witness the richness of heritage, especially traditional crafts.
The project also introduces an inspirational workshop to present a successful small business that draws its strength and ideas from the heritage. Along with this workshop, the most interesting entrepreneurial ideas inspired by diverse heritage will be promoted within a special publication titled „Made of BiH“.