About Most Mira
Most Mira means Bridge of Peace. We use arts projects to build bridges between divided ethnic and religious young people in Prijedor, the rural North West region of Republika Srpska in Bosnia. Most Mira is a registered charity both in the UK and Bosnia that works to promote a peaceful future for young people in a country still divided by war.
We have been working since 2009 as the only collaborative youth arts project in the Prijedor region of Republika Srpska providing opportunities for young Bosnian Serbs and Muslims (Bosniaks) to explore the past and challenge the present in a safe and supportive environment. There is high unemployment, strong ethnic segregation and a lack of opportunity for young people. The area experienced violent conflict during the war in the 1990s, with mass displacement of the Muslim population, three concentration camps and one of the biggest mass graves all located in the villages surrounding Prijedor where we operate. The young people of today are the victims of yesterday’s war and bitterness.
Most Mira is not a religiously or politically affiliated charity.
Most Mira put on 3 years of arts festivals bringing together up to 500 children from segregated local schools followed by annual participative and intensive drama programmes for teenagers and peace building courses bringing young arts activists, Bosnian diaspora and international students into the area.
Building on 10 years of project experience and contacts on the ground, Most Mira is now moving into a new phase of its development. We are working to establish a permanent presence in the area and build a Peace Centre out of a war ruined building in Kevljani, on the border between Serbian and Bosniak villages near Prijedor, and the location of our youth festivals to date. The Centre will provide a safe space for young people to meet, free from political pressure. It will be a space for year-round activities for local people of all ethnicities, international peace studies conferences and new local social enterprises. It is an exciting vision and we look forward to welcoming new Trustees to support the current Board in making that vision a reality.
