Aspirations for Peace from Sarajevo

Recently, NYLC CEO Jim Kielsmeier traveled to Europe to address a conference in Sarajevo. Following are his reflections.

Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was more than a meeting place for Volonteurope’s 18th Annual Conference in early October. This historic crossroads of empires, religions, and cultures is also a mirror for seemingly intractable present-day issues: violence, racism, environmental degradation, and children placed at risk.

World War I, our history books tell us, started when Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, was felled by an assassin June 28, 1914, at the Roman Bridge in Sarajevo. The ancient city was also the epicenter of civil war in the 1990s, remembered vividly by local people who lost loved ones. Charred buildings and bullet holes are scars reminding the visitor of the brutal four-year bombardment.

Suffering and need require a robust civil society, including preparation of volunteers — starting with young people. My remarks to 125 of Europe’s top volunteer leaders came a day after the Nobel Peace prize announcement. I was moved by President Obama’s acceptance remarks, saying the award was not about one person or society but “the courageous efforts of people around the world.” It was about what needed to be done rather than a single accomplishment. Columnists have used the term “aspirational.” In essence, all of us share the responsibility to create a better world that accompanies President Obama in receiving the Peace Prize.

So my message to those gathered was the importance of linking young people and schools in addressing national and global needs through service-learning.

The religious and racial hatred that has torn this society of Bosnia Herzegovina remains with the current generation of adults. Young people are badly needed to bring fresh hearts and strong new insights to this ravaged region. They are also needed in Chicago, Israel/Palestine, Liberia, and Congo — all places where service-learning and NYLC have gone and will go again.

That Nobel Prize we share is heavy.

Photo: A mosque and orthodox church underneath the hills occupied by Serbian forces in the civil war of the 1990’s.