CHRISTMAS CONCERT - FIRST TIME IN PRIJEDOR: Messages of mutual respect

A festive Christmas concert titled "First time in Prijedor" was held at the Prijedor Theatre in front of a large number of guests. This historic event, which took place for the first time in the city of Prijedor, was jointly organized by the Bosniak Cultural Center in Prijedor and the Roman Catholic Parish Office of St. Joseph from Prijedor.

The Christmas concert program, featuring appropriate Christmas carols, was performed by the Vocal Ensemble "Domenike" from Sveta Nedjelja, conducted by Professor Ana Benković, and choirs of BKC Prijedor members - the mixed choir "Harmonija" and the children's choir "Melody" from Sanski Most, and the choir of KUD "Osman Džafić" from Prijedor, conducted by Professor Alma Karabeg.

The event was attended by a large number of believers from parishes in the wider Prijedor, Sanski Most, and Banja Luka regions, as well as religious dignitaries from the Diocese of Banja Luka, and representatives of political, cultural, and religious life from Prijedor and the wider region.

Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica, addressed the attendees, stating that "the organization of the Christmas concert for the first time in Prijedor represents an exceptionally important historical step in reviving this aspect of the religious culture of Bosnian Croats - Catholics, not only for believers in the parishes of Prijedor, Ljubija, Šurkovac, Ravska, Sanski Most, Sasina, Stara Rijeka, and others, but also for all residents of the Prijedor region and the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.".

Professor Sanel Jakupović, President of the Management Board of the Bosniak Cultural Center in Prijedor, and Parish Priest of the Roman Catholic Parish Office of St. Joseph from Prijedor, Reverend Marko Vidović, particularly emphasized in their addresses that "this event is equally important for the development of interreligious and intercultural cooperation and dialogue among all citizens of this region, considering the wartime suffering, the return of the population, and reintegration into social structures and a life worthy of a civilized human being.".

The general patron of the Christmas concert in Prijedor was Doraja Eberle (LR a.D.), President of the Austrian humanitarian organization "Bauern helfen Bauern" from Salzburg, and an honorary member and "cultural ambassador" of BKC Prijedor.