The Diplomat
The Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vesna Andree Zaimović, gave recognitions for the project Summer holidays for children of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1994-2000, developed in the Principality of Asturias.
The awards ceremony took place on the 12th in the city of Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias.
It is an initiative of solidarity that established unwavering bonds between citizens and local communities in both countries. A significant number of families from different cities of Asturias (Oviedo, Gijón, Piloña, Bimenes, among others) provided hospitality and welcomed more than 300 children from Bosnia and Herzegovina who, in the years immediately after the war, participated in this organized vacation. These stays in family settings offered opportunities to build friendships and siblings, share time with peers, engage in sports and recreational activities, learn languages, rest, receive rehabilitation and medical and dental care, as well as to get to know each other’s cultures.
In addition to acting as hosts, a number of citizens participated in the project as volunteers or donors, making available, for example, buses that transported children or their professional work as teachers, psychologists, health personnel, dentists, among others. One of the most numerous visits was made through the organization Voces Infantiles, although there were similar initiatives on a smaller scale in other parts of Spain.
For this reason, the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina has developed a project with the aim of recognizing the organizers and participants of this humanitarian action, as well as symbolically recall the value and importance of local initiatives in building strong ties between both countries.
Numerous prominent citizens of Asturias were among the children whose families took in their peers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and still maintain contact with them. The delegate of the Spanish Government in the Principality of Asturias, Adriana Lastra, was a child when her parents opened the doors of their home to welcome their fellow Bosnians during the summer, an experience she shared in her welcoming speech. Among the former participants of the project is also the current mayor of the municipality of Piloña, Iván Allende.
At the ceremony, held in the Príncipe Felipe de Oviedo Auditorium Congress Center, about 60 host families were gathered, representatives of the military and police leadership of Asturias, the president of the Parliament of Asturias, Juan Manuel Cofiño González, representatives of institutions and the Diplomatic Corps. During the event, a video with archival images was shown, a photo exhibition documenting this noble initiative was presented and a mini-concert was held with teachers and students of the School of Music of Oviedo. Ambassador Vesna Andree Zaimović and Minister Counsellor Armin Zećo solemnly handed over 13 recognitions.
“The ‘Summer Vacation’ project went beyond institutional action, as it was based on total commitment of individuals. Its actors were willing not only to send aid to anonymous recipients, but to open their homes, accept children as part of their families, initiate shared experiences and a story that will last decades. These are moments that impress; it is humanity at its best, because a human embrace and the certainty of having a friend cannot be valued in coins. Today, in times of rising tensions, it is especially important to remember and illuminate with new light initiatives that restore faith in the strength of human kindness”, expressed the Bosnian ambassador in her speech.
The event was organized by the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in collaboration with the Diplomatic Forum of the Principality of Asturias and the Association “Children’s Voices”, with the support of the City of Oviedo and the Government Delegation in the Principality of Asturias. The preparation and organization of the project was assisted by the cabinet of the President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
