At the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Tuzla on the 13th of September 2023., the promotion of the book by writer Leyla Karaça entitled “Heaven in Your Heart” and the panel discussion “Spaces for Women in Literature” were held. Panelists, prof. Anisa Avdagić Ph.D. and prof. Melinda Botalić Ph.D. spoke about their impressions of the novel, which follows the spiritual journey of the main character Dilruba, who questions her existence through dreams and hallucinations and goes through different stages on the way to come to the knowledge of […]
The TPO Foundation and the University Gender Resource Center organized the promotion of the novel “Heaven in Your Heart” by the Turkish author Leyla Karaça on September 12, 2023, in Sarajevo. The first promotion of the mentioned novel in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place in Sarajevo on September 12. starting at 6 pm in the premises of the Museum of Literature and Theater Arts. As part of the promotion of the novel, a panel discussion “Spaces for women in literature” was organized, and the participants were Prof. Adisa Bašić Ph.D.[…]
The TPO Foundation and the University Gender Resource Center are organizing three promotions of the novel “Heaven in Your Heart” by the Turkish author Leyla Karaça in Sarajevo, Mostar, and Tuzla. The first promotion in a series will be held in Sarajevo on September 12. starting at 6 pm in the premises of the Museum of Literature and Theater Arts. In addition to the promotion of the novel, a panel discussion on the topic of space for women in literature will be held as part of all three events. During[…]
The book “Mainstreaming Gender Equality at Universities in the Balkans: Fighting Gender-Based Violence” by authors Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Jasna Kovačević and Jasmine Husanović was published in English language. This edition was published by the American publishing house Scholars Press. We remind you that this publication was created as a result of extensive research efforts as part of the five-year UNIversity and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM) project launched in 2021 by the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo with the aim of networking universities from the region, exchanging expertise, equipping higher education by establishing[…]
The conference “Ethics of Reconciliation – European Perspectives” was held in Sarajevo from August 24th until August 27th, 2023. The conference was organized by Societas Ethica from Uppsala in cooperation with the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Sarajevo and the Center for Human Rights of the University of Sarajevo, with the support of the Renovabis association. The conference brought together about fifty scientists from Europe, America, and India. They have provided a view of the phenomenon of reconciliation from the point of view of various scientific disciplines, including[…]
Within the framework of the UNIGEM project, a three-day teacher training on the integration of gender perspectives into the teaching of social and humanistic sciences was held in Sarajevo from August 28th to 29th, 2023. One of the major challenges in education is how to incorporate a gender perspective into existing curricula and programs without it being merely “adding women,” as it has traditionally been understood and still is. To assist teachers with concrete suggestions for specific subjects, especially language and literature, history, sociology, and pedagogy, educators provided concrete examples[…]
As part of the Societas Ethica Conference, on behalf of the UNIGeRC Center, professor Zilka Spahić Šiljak PhD held a workshop with doctoral students from Western European countries dealing with issues of ethics and reconciliation. The gender dimension is crucial to feminist approaches to justice and reconciliation because without this dimension it is not possible to see how both conflict and peace building affect women and minorities who carry the biggest burden as collateral damage. The workshops were attended by doctoral students from several Western European countries, including Germany, Switzerland,[…]
Zilka Spahić Šiljak From the White Tower in Gradačac, the song about the lost love of Captain Husein was not heard today, with famous lyrics: “From Gradačac, the white tower of the Dragon of Bosnia, the falcons chirped mournfully…” but the cry for the murdered woman broke through. On August 11, 2023, Nizama Hećimović was murdered by her husband, Nermin Sulejmanović, who killed her in front of their two-year-old daughter and broadcast it all live on Instagram, and then killed several more people and finally committed suicide. A terrible image[…]
University and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM) is a project that TPO Foundation from Sarajevo implements from 2021 to 2025, with the support of the Government of the United Kingdom, with the aim to prevent and fight against gender-based violence, discrimination and sexual harassment and to ensure integrity and quality in higher education. The project stands for the strategic commitment of 19 partner universities and their dedication – via introduction of gender perspective – to ensure gender equality and a safe environment for teaching staff and students at universities in Bosnia and[…]
Education on gender equality, which took place during June 2023 at the University of Zenica as part of the UNIGEM project, included all eight faculties of this University: Faculty of Islam and Pedagogy, Faculty of Economy, Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Metallurgy and Technology, Polytechnics and Faculty of Law. Visit to the Faculty of Polytechnics of the University of Zenica On June 14, 2023, Professor Larisa Velić, PhD, Coordinator of the Center for Gender Equality of the University of Zenica, visited the Faculty[…]
This overview of planned and implemented teaching staff trainings at partner universities was written on the basis of reports on the monitoring of activities from the Action Plans for Gender Equality of the partner universities within the UNIGEM project, and quarterly coordinator reports. The baseline research that was carried out at the beginning of the UNIGEM project in 2021 has shown that there is room for significant improvement of fundamental and advanced knowledge on the topic of gender equality, gender discrimination and gender-based violence in academic communities among teaching staff[…]
Summer volleyball camp MOVEMENT (Mountain volleyball, education and mentorship camp) – unification through sport was held in the period from 21st until 23rd of July at the EKO-FIS Vlašić site. After three days of intense sports socializing, games, education and conversation, the first summer volleyball camp in Vlašić for girls and boys attending volleyball clubs Travnik and Victor Novi Travnik, organized by the representative office of the non-governmental organization DTCare, was successfully finished. During three days of socializing, the participants worked on improving communication, team spirit, but also sensitive topics[…]
During the period of June 22nd to June 24th, 2023, three online workshops on the topic of discourse analysis were held, which is one of the more demanding analyses in social sciences. Within the framework of the UNIGEM project, three groups of teachers gained insights into key aspects of this analytical field.
As part of the project Introducing gender-conscious policies in higher education – UNIGEM, TPO Foundation and the University Gender Resource Center of the University of Sarajevo – UNIGeRC hosted prof. Ph.D. from Griffith University Australia. In the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies “Prof. dr. Zdravko Grebo” of the University of Sarajevo and through the Zoom platform, a lecture titled “Female sexuality, gender segregation and veiling in Islam” was held – Đuderija Phd began his lecture by presenting the ideal Muslim woman through two works: Baljić, H. (2012) Bosnian Customs in the[…]
We would like to invite you to a lecture by Dr Adis Đuderija from Griffith University (Australia). The lecture entitled “Female sexuality, gender segregation and veiling in Islam” will be held on Friday, June 16, 2023, starting at 5:00 p.m. at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, in the Campus of the University of Sarajevo. It is also possible to join via the Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81997849963Meeting ID: 819 9784 9963 Welcome!
Today (on Monday, June 12, 2023), Dr Amy Sarch, Provost for academic affairs, and Dr. Jeff Coker, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of Shenandoah University (USA), together with Professor Dr. Dina Nadarević, visited the University Gender Resource Center (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo, where they met with Professor Dr. Zilka Spahić Šiljak and coordinators Ivana Kulić and Lamija Subašić. The guests were presented with the work of the TPO Foundation and UNIGeRC, i.e. past and current projects, with special emphasis on the project ‘University and Gender[…]
In the patriarchal and deeply traditional society in which we live, gender equality is still considered a secondary issue and very often any discussion about gender roles and gender identity is considered a joke. It is true that women today live better than ever, but women’s rights are still not completely equal to those of men. The reason for this is women’s very weak awareness of women’s roles, the lack of clear definition of our women’s rights and freedoms in a society. On top of everything that this society lacks[…]
On Monday, June 5, 2023, the first (online) meeting with the researchers was held, what meant an official start of the regional research titled ‘Discursive Justice: Gender Responsive Approaches to Justice in the Balkans’The research will be headed by the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo and the University Gender Resource Center (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), within the project named ‘University and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM)’.The research will deal with the analyses of criminal judgments for gender-based violence, especially sexual and family violence and femicide. The two key aspects that[…]
On Monday, 29 May 2023, at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo, the promotion of two books, translated as part of the UNIGEM project, was held. Professor Dr Dino Abazović promoted the book “Women and religion in the first centuries of Christianity” and Selma Alispahić, MA, promoted the book “Decolonial Feminism”. The promotion moderator was Professor Dr Valida Repovac Nikšić. The event was jointly organized by the TPO Foundation and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo. The book “Women and Religion in the First Centuries of Christianity”, edited[…]
The panel titled ‘Feminist Methodological Challenges in Research’ was held on Monday, May 8, 2023, at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of the University of Sarajevo. It was organized within the UNIGEM project by the University Gender Resource Centre (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo and the TPO Foundation. The panelists were Prof. Dr. Ajla Demiragić (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, Prof. Dr. Jasmina Husanović Pehar (Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla) and Prof. Dr. Amila Ždralović (Faculty of Law, University of Sarajevo), and the moderator was Prof. Dr.[…]
On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, a session of the Council for Gender Equality of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA) was held at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. Prof. Dr. Jasna Kovačević, the Council’s coordinator, informed the present members about the activities implemented in the past period, including the Winter School “Gender and Globalization”, held in February 2023 in Sarajevo. According to student evaluations, this School was very successful – they positively evaluated both, the content of the School and the teaching staff. Now, students have to prepare their final papers[…]
During March 2023, more precisely on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at theJosip Juraj Stossmayer University in Osijek and on Friday, March 31, 2023,at the Facutly of Law of the University of Zagreb promotions of the book “Violence against pregnant women in Bosnia and Herzegovina – family, health system and work relations” by Zlatan Hrnčić, PhD, were held. The following workshops that accompanied these promotions had the same name “Violence against pregnant women”. Students from both universities attended the promotion and actively participated in the discussion. Considering that this book scientifically[…]
“Understanding masculinity: how to develop gender equality” was the title of the workshop the well-known journalist from BiH Nikola Vučić held at eight universities, partners in the UNIGEM project, during the “16 Days of Activism” Campaign in 2022. Here is a video of one workshop, produced within the TPO Foundation’s educational cycle on gender equality, which is part of the UNIGEM Project (University and Gender Mainstreaming) that the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo currently implements in partnership with 19 universities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, supported by the[…]
On April 5 and 6, 2023, a gender equality workshop was organized at the Faculty of Criminology, Criminology and Security Studies for the deans and directors of the University of Sarajevo on the topic Gender-based harassment/violence: preventive and repressive mechanisms at the University of Sarajevo”. The lecturer was Prof. Dr Marija Lučić-Ćatić. The content of the workshop covered the following topics: what is gender-based harassment and gender-based violence, what preventive and investigative and repressive mechanisms exist at UNSA (how to report, relevant legal regulations and competent authorities). The workshop was[…]
In the premises of the International Multireligious and Intercultural Center IMIC Zajedno in Sarajevo, on March 29, 2023. In 2008, the promotion of the English edition of the book “Bridge-Builders in (Post)WarTimes Guidelines on Interreligious Dialogue” was held, which was supported by KAICIID from Portugal. The author of the book is Jelena Jorgačević Kisić, a journalist from the Belgrade weekly Vreme. Jelena is a PhD student at the University of Regensburg. She has won several national journalism awards for her articles. She is the president of the non-governmental organization Forum[…]
As part of the project “University and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM)”, the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo and the University Gender Resource Center (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA) invite researchers from the academic community (professors and PhD students) from the field of humanities, social and especially legal sciences, as well as activists, who work in the field of combating gender-based violence, to participate in research that will deal with the analysis of verdicts for gender-based violence, especially sexual violence and femicide, and writing theoretical texts based on the aforementioned analysis.[…]
Working women are not the only ones who suffer because of difficult working conditions and low wages. Working men aren’t off any better.” (Clara Zetkin) When the 8th of March is celebrated as International Women’s Day, in public discourse we have at least three types of actions and reactions. The first and most prevalent way of celebrating the 8th of March is buying flowers and gifts for women without any critical attitude towards the position of women in the family and society. Another type is the activism of various women[…]
The workshops were designed to provoke assumptions about the concepts of gender and gender identities because most teachers claim to know what these terms represent, yet most are not familiar with the key theoretical frameworks and research on these topics. Gender theories, concepts of masculinity and femininity, and toxic masculinity were presented based on the study “The Man’s Box,” which offers a research framework for this topic that is rarely explored in the Balkans. In the second part of the workshop, participants conducted testing on masculinity and femininity in groups,[…]
On the occasion of celebrating International Women’s Day, TPO Foundation organized the panel “Fight for women’s rights between generations” on the 7th of March, with the support of the Swiss Embassy. The students of the First Bosniak High School were part of the audience, and one of them prepared a reflection on the held panel. You can read Hana Aldžić’s text here. REFLECTION ON THE PANEL “The fight for women’s rights between generations” (Hana Aldžić (First Bosniak High School) After the panel discussion which was held on 07.03.3033. and organized[…]
On the occasion of the celebration of International Women’s Day, another in the series of activities of the TPO Foundation was the holding of a panel discussion “With BiH women writers about BiH women writers today”. The panel discussion was held on March 9, 2023. in the premises of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies “prof. dr. Zdravko Grebo” of the University of Sarajevo. An interesting and inspiring conversation was led by contemporary writers Adisa Bašić, Melida Travančić, Lejla Kalamujić, and Nikolina Todorović, and the discussion was moderated by the writer[…]
In order to mark the International Women’s Day, the TPO Foundation and the University Gender Resource Center (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo, with the support of the Swiss Embassy in Sarajevo, organized and held a panel on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, titled “Women’s rights between generations”. The panellists were activists from three generations, well-known women in BiH society for their long-term, exceptional and dedicated work in the field of human rights, especially women’s human rights. Each generation was represented by two persons. Therefore, we had a privilege to welcome[…]
Although the younger generations show positive changes in the expression of masculinity, and in general gender roles in the family and society, hegemonic masculinities are still widely present in the societies of the Balkans, concluded the participants of the panel titled “How to respond to toxic masculinity”, held on the 8th of March 2023 at 6:00 p.m. As part of the UNIGEM project, the TPO Foundation and the University Gender Resource Center (UNIGeRC) of the University of Sarajevo organized this event on the occasion of International Women’s Day with guests[…]
For the web portal Tacno.net Zilka Spahić Šiljak, one od the editors and authors of the UNIGEM research “The challenges of mainstreaming gender equality in university communities: fighting gender-based violence” talked about gender-based violence education and its integration in school curricula.
The UNIGEM Winter School “Gender and Globalization” has been successfully completed. The winter school was held from February 20 to 26, and has gathered 50 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro. The organizers of the Winter School are the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies – prof. Ph.D. Zdravko Grebo of the University of Sarajevo and the TPO Foundation. The participants of this program were second- and third-year undergraduate and master’s students who come from 19 partner universities from four countries in the region where the UNIGEM project (University[…]
From Monday 20.02. Regional Winter School “Gender and Globalization” begins. The winter school “Gender and Globalization” is organized by the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies – prof. Ph.D. Zdravko Grebo of the University of Sarajevo and TPO Foundation in the period from February 20 to 26, 2023 in Sarajevo. The focus is on international and regional economic and political perspectives at the intersection of gender and development. The program is intended for second and third-year undergraduate and master’s students studying law, economics, politics, and related sciences at 19 partner universities from[…]
Sexism, offensive comments, unwanted compliments and touching are among the most common forms of gender-based harassment in the university community. More than 60 percent of students and teaching and administrative staff at faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia have personally experienced some form of gender-based harassment and violence, while 80 percent of them are familiar with such experiences of others, it was recently published research by the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo, conducted at 18 universities. Source: diskriminacija.ba Sexism, offensive comments, unwanted compliments and touching are among the[…]
In the period from January 28 to February 26, 2023 matches of the League for Equality are being played. Both female and male students of the University of Sarajevo compete in futsal, volleyball, and basketball, and the teams are made up of an equal number of women and men. The selection of groups was held in the amphitheater of the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education of the University of Sarajevo, and the first matches were played on January 4 and 5. The goal of the League for Equality is[…]
The book “Challenges of integrating gender equality in the university community: Against gender-based violence” was promoted at the International Burch University (IBU) in Sarajevo and its promoters were Prof. Dr Ahmed El Sayed, Naida Misimović Čustović, MA, i Amer Kurtović, MA. Professors Dr Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Dr Jasna Kovačević and Dr Jasmina Husanović were the book editors. The book was published in four languages (Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian and Serbian), and the IBU’s promotion was the 18th promotion in total at the partner institution that participates in the UNIGEM project. The[…]
“Violence against pregnant women in Bosnia and Herzegovina – family, health system and work relations” was the title of the workshop Zlatan Hrnčić, PhD, held at eight universities, partners in the UNIGEM project, during the “16 Days of Activism” Campaign in 2022. Namely, Zlatan did a research in this area for his doctoral thesis, so he also authored the book with the same title. Here is a video of one of the mentioned workshops, produced within the TPO Foundation’s educational cycle on gender equality, which is part of the UNIGEM[…]
After the adoption of the Gender Action Plan at the University “Džemal Bijedić” in Mostar in 2021, a series of activities promoting gender equality in the academic community were implemented. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the activities so far is inevitable In order to asure continued quality of work. Thus, at the University “Džemal Bijedić” in Mostar, on January 30, 2023, a workshop was held with the Advisory Board for Gender Equality led by Prof. Rebecca Kotlo. The workshop was held by the academic directors of the University Gender Resource[…]
University of Mostar (SUM) is one of the partner universities within the UNIGEM project. In 2021, SUM adopted the Gender Action Plan (GAP) and undertook a task to achieve several goals. On January 30, 2023, a workshop was held with members of the Advisory Committee for Gender Equality. At the head of the meeting was prof. Davorka Topić Stipić. The workshop was led by the academic directors of the University Gender Resource Center of the University of Sarajevo (UNIGeRC), prof. Zilka Spahić Šiljak and prof. Jasna Kovačević. One of the[…]
Precarity” is a tricky term because it names a threat that is real and pervasive and consists of many elements crucial to an individual being. Judith Butler describes precarity as “a politically induced condition in which certain populations suffer from failing social and economic support networks and become differentially exposed to injury, violence and death” (2010). The fundamental question addressed by the authors in this book is how those who use the theory of care can respond effectively to the prevailing reality of neoliberal precarity. Another significant aspect of the[…]
When we try to reconstruct the lives of women in historical contexts, we encounter persistent problems caused by the lack of direct evidence coming from the women themselves. We learn about their history from men’s narrative and men’s perspectives. Difficulties related to the depiction of women’s lives in the ancient world are numerous, and our task is made especially difficult by the religious context. The Greek, Jewish, or Christian testimonies from the ancient world presented here are notoriously male-oriented in their worldview and view of the ‘other world’. The book[…]
This book discusses the different ways in which feminists have understood labor, especially women’s labor, in relation to issues of freedom and oppression. The book encompasses four centuries of capitalism and examines feminist positions tied to numerous political traditions and traces feminist theories of labor through this historical framework, conceptualizing them through three broad trajectories to understand why and how feminists disagree on the issue of women’s labor. These trajectories are: feminism of equality, feminism of critical equality, and feminism of social reproduction. Women and Work: Feminism, Labour, and Social[…]
The book entitled “Feminism and Religion in the 21st Century: Technology, Dialogue, and Expanding Borders” is a pioneering edition. Various female authors write about the transformational effects of communication technologies, the Internet, blogs, and social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, in the communities of women and men involved in religion and feminism. Women are extremely involved in the digital world as they dominate blogs and represent the majority of total social media users. These media break down borders, communicate globally and across numerous divides, and allow women to deal[…]
Starting from the question “Who cleans the world?”, this book examines feminist struggles in the context of a violent and brutal counter-revolution. This issue prompted a strike by black and brown women who clean the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. This book examines the roles of what we call civilizational feminism in the text, viewed as a special strategy of the current counter-revolution. This feminism borrows the vocabulary and goals of the colonial civilizing mission, modernizing the politics that Frantz Fanon summed up in the sentence: “Let’s win[…]
The book “Challenges of integrating gender equality in the university community: Against gender-based violence” was promoted at the University of Donja Gorica (UDG) (Montenegro) and its promoters were Prof. Dr Nela Milošević, Dr Milica Kovač Orlandić, Dr Ivan Jovetić and Dr Nikoleta Đukanović. Professors Dr Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Dr Jasna Kovačević and Dr Jasmina Husanović were the book editors. The book was published in four languages (Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian and Serbian), and the promotion at the UDG was the 17th promotion in total at the partner institution that participates in[…]
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global problem and affects the lives of both women and men. In order to make a change, it is important to seriously address this issue in the educational programs of schools and universities where different forms of GBV also occur. Universities should be safe places for everyone, but a large number of teaching and administrative staff and students still know very little about gender equality (Spahić Šiljak et al., 2022). Support, in the processes of equipping higher education, is provided to the 19 universities, through[…]
