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A Vienna Encounter with Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Culture
Written by UPF-Austria
Friday, June 7, 2019
Vienna, Austria—UPF co-sponsored a cultural evening highlighting Bosnia and Herzegovina called “Encounter through Art and Music.”
The evening, which took place in the UPF Peace Embassy on June 7, 2019, was organized by the Mimosas women’s forum in cooperation with the Austrian chapters of UPF and its affiliated organization Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP).
A varied program was offered for the enjoyment of the more than 150 guests. Introductory remarks were offered by Peter Haider, the president of UPF-Austria; Azra Merdzan, the director of the Mimosas women's forum; and Dr. Alma Zadic, a member of the Austrian parliament who originally came to Austria as a refugee child.
Mag. Esma Diman, the chair of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian associations in Austria, and Mrs. Selma Uzicanin, minister counselor of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna, gave welcoming speeches.
In the first part of the program, two presentations were given, one by the guest of honor, Dr. Enes Kujundzic from Sarajevo. He worked as a philology professor at the Institute of Philosophy at the Universities of Sarajevo and Zenica. He wrote his dissertation in the field of library science. Since 2007 he has been a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Commission at UNESCO as an expert on the Representative List of Culture and Tradition. He spoke about the Austrian ethnographer Friedrich Krauss, who collected some 200,000 verses of the Gusar songs of the Muslim Slavs and published them in two volumes.
Then Mag. Wolfgang Weilharter, who studied theology and now works as a mediator and conflict worker in the Vienna Municipal Building, and as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, spoke about his long-term cooperation with the Center for Nonviolent Action in Belgrade and Sarajevo.
The film Door to Europe: Natural Beauties of Bosnia and Herzegovina was shown, followed by a short presentation about a Peace Road event (Vienna-Zagreb-Belgrade-Srebrenica-Sarajevo) that will take place in September. UPF, the Mimosas, and the Women's Federation will have meetings for world peace in the respective cities. The purpose of this trip is to contribute to peace and reconciliation, to enjoy each country’s beauty, and to cultivate friendships.
The second part of the evening was devoted to music and poetry. The Mimosas women's choir, under the direction of Emir Radišević, presented Bosnian folk songs and a Macedonian folk song. Azra Kujundžić and Emira Kundurović, accompanied by Vlatko Milanoski on the accordion, sang very beautiful, heartfelt songs. Young girls from the Bosona cultural society performed beautiful folk dances. At the end of this part Ms. Maida Hadžić recited the poetry of Aleksa Šantić.
The third part of the evening belonged to the artists. Pictures by Nada Nadj and Amina Sijamhodzic could be admired, as well as fashion creations, needlework and unique jewelry. An excellent buffet of Bosnian specialties and coffee concluded the event.
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