Field visited Bihać and Cazin

British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Matthew Field today visited the Una-Sana Canton and toured locations where the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is implementing two projects funded by the government of the United Kingdom. These are the projects "Social Cohesion Initiative of the Una-Sana Canton" and "Establishing a Sustainable Approach to Preventing Violent Extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

The project "Social Cohesion Initiative of the Una-Sana Canton" has provided support to local communities and authorities in the Una-Sana Canton, where a certain number of migrants and refugees are staying, in solving problems in the provision of public services, in line with the needs they themselves identified as priorities. Devastated public spaces in Bihać have been renovated and revitalized, funds have been donated for more adequate provision of utility services in Bihać and Cazin, public lighting has been installed in nine local communities, and the work of the local non-governmental community directly working with migrants in temporary reception centers has been supported.

Some of these locations, such as the Borići temporary reception center, the park and partisan memorial, and the NK "Jedinstvo" stadium, were visited today by Ambassador Field, Cantonal Prime Minister Mustafa Ružnić, Mayor of Bihać Šuhret Fazlić, and IOM Project Coordinator Kristina Šešlija.

Ambassador Field took this opportunity to thank all project partners and emphasized the importance of joint engagement at all levels of government and all responsible institutions.

"I want to thank the IOM for their tireless work, the cities of Bihać and Cazin for their excellent cooperation and support for the project, and the Prime Minister and government of the Una-Sana Canton for their exceptional contribution, as well as everyone who has supported our work in any way. As in all other fields, only when we work together do we achieve significant results."

After Bihać, Ambassador Field visited Cazin, and accompanied by the Mayor of Cazin Nermin Ogrešević, he also visited the Old Town Ostrožac where he met with young people involved in the project "Establishing a Sustainable Approach to Preventing Violent Extremism in Bosnia and Herzegovina".

Through this project, young people, their teachers, and parents have the opportunity to work together to improve their local community. Through community dialogue, young people learned what their communities need, and then, using grants within this project, they designed and implemented activities to change their environment for the better. Research shows that such programs contribute to the resilience of communities to the influences of violent extremism.