Storytelling brings together people with disabilities, Roma and Sinti minorities and refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, showing the world that art can break down social barriers.
The “All Inclusive: Performing Arts for Diversity and Social Inclusion" project focuses on marginalised groups and creates a platform where their stories and creativity take centre stage. Using the transformative power of the performing arts, the project aims to promote inter-community relations, to break down social barriers and to contribute to the strengthening of a (trans)national community based on solidarity.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Social Inclusion Strategy identifies persons with disabilities (8.2% of the population) as the most vulnerable, excluded and marginalised group and Roma (1.6%) as the most neglected national minority. The increasing presence of refugees is another source of tension with precarious relations between migrant populations and host communities.
"All Inclusive" was launched with a special programme at the MESS International Theatre Festival in Sarajevo in October 2024. The festival was followed by workshops and community activities from December 2024 to February 2025, during which representatives of the different groups addressed specific challenges and developed creative solutions. Participants from each community took part in separate community-specific workshops focusing on disciplines such as dance/theatre and music. Led by experienced mentors, these workshops helped participants develop creative skills, self-expression and artistic techniques, drawing on their unique experiences and cultural contexts.
Finally, participants from all communities came together in a mixed storytelling workshop that provided a space to share ideas, foster mutual understanding and strengthen personal and collective narratives. Talent from the communities involved in the workshop will be sought for the final production.
The project will culminate in an integrated, interdisciplinary performance featuring theatre, dance, music, audio-visual installations and costumes created by community representatives and produced by the Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR. This artistic outcome will be premiered at the next MESS Festival 2025, with the aim of raising awareness of diversity and paving the way for a more inclusive and just society.
The project aims to have an impact on both the participants and the public, promoting unity and an appreciation of diversity through cultural change. “All Inclusive” succeeds in creating space for artistic expression and empowerment, but also in establishing new inclusion practices for disadvantaged people and new partnerships between cultural and non-governmental organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“All Inclusive” project is part of the European Spaces of Culture Diversity, Human rights Migration Social inclusion Theatre programme, created by EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture.
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Photo: Goethe-Institut Bosnia and Herzegovina
