+ What does the trip look like?

Pre-pilgrimage preparatory calls will be scheduled to introduce the BiH context and history and the basics of interethnic and interreligious peacebuilding.

Group leaders will help to design the pilgrimage and tailor it for the group they are leading to BiH. Typically, the pilgrimage lasts about 8-10 days, with the first 2-3 days in and around Sarajevo learning about its history. After a few days to adjust to the new time zone and learn some basics, local participants from both BiH and the Balkan region will join the group for the remainder of the pilgrimage.

+ Why Bosnia & Herzegovina?

Our global community seems more fractured and divided than ever, with religion and ethnicity often factoring into social divisions and contributing to a climate of distrust, polarization, and fear. Bosnia & Herzegovina is no stranger to the political weaponization of religion and ethnicity, but it also has a long history of intergroup respect and collaboration across differences. For that reason, BiH is home to a unique generation of peacebuilders who grew up with a deep affection for their ethno-religious neighbors but who have also been dealing with alternative facts, dueling narratives, inflammatory rhetoric, and the political weaponization of various identities for the past 30 years. These peacebuilders have survived and overcome a great deal, and their wisdom and experiences in dealing with the challenges and opportunities of peacebuilding across ethnic and religious boundaries can inspire and shape peacebuilding approaches elsewhere in the world.

+ Who is the pilgrimage for?

Our pilgrimages are generally designed for groups who come from the same community. If you are a church pastor, university professor, or a community leader that would like to bring a group, please contact us or fill out the Catalyze interest form. If you are an individual, couple, or small group that has heard about the Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage and would like to join another group, please fill out the interest form and we will determine if there is a relevant group that may be possible for you to join.

Church groups – Many Christians are trying to reimagine a more Christlike way of living out our Christian vocation in the world. Peace-oriented theology and peacebuilding provide us with just such a reimagined Christian purpose and vocation in the world today. Practices of peacebuilding take into account challenging themes like truth, mercy, justice, and forgiveness while teaching us to live with humility and flexibility as we self-interrogate, acknowledge our own blind spots, and discern with those around us about how we can work together toward God’s just peace. The Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage will provide you and your Christian community with theological foundations and peacebuilding practices to reimagine and live out a renewed sense of Christian vocation and mission back home.

Student, learning, or university groups – On the Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage, you will not just travel from place to place visiting tourist attractions and museums. You will interact with peacebuilding practitioners, professors, and social psychologists who are on the front lines engaging with peacebuilding challenges and working for positive change in BiH. You will also interact with local pilgrimage participants who are passionate about seeing peacebuilding work advance in their local communities. Each trip is created specifically for your group and will include a variety of exchanges with local community leaders, as well as world-class pedagogy from your Catalyze pilgrimage facilitators.

+ What does the pilgrimage include?

The Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage includes three pre-pilgrimage preparatory Zoom calls covering Bosnian history and introductory peacebuilding concepts; the pilgrimage itself (approximately 8-10 days); and post-trip debriefing and follow-up.

+ What is a sample itinerary?

Each Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage is a unique experience tailored to the specific group and their requests. We will visit multiple locations and meet with a variety of different people on every trip. A sample itinerary is included below and can be tailored more or less to focus on religious or socio-cultural aspects of social divisions and peacebuilding efforts.

Preparatory Zoom Calls: 2-3 sessions recommended

• Understanding Bosnia & Herzegovina basics
• Peace-oriented theologies and/or an introduction to conflict transformation
• Dialogue, dignity, and dealing with competing BiH histories

10-day sample itinerary*

• Day 1 - Arrival and orientation
• Day 2 - Tour Sarajevo's old city; War Childhood Museum; Cable Car to Trebević (Olympic Mountain); Evening prayers & Muslim hospitality
• Day 3 - Visiting Srebrenica Memorial Center or the Srebrenica genocide museum; Local talk and discussion with Serb political analyst and psychologist: Competing narratives & alternative facts
• Day 4 - Review of group narratives and peacebuilding principles and practices in preparation for collaborative experience with diverse local group
• Day 5 - Nonviolent communication and teambuilding with Bosniak Muslim peacebuilders; Identity workshop with Center for Peacebuilding
• Day 6 - Day trip to Mostar & visit to Žitomislići Orthodox monastery
• Day 7 - Bosnian Protestant peacebuilding trainer and psychotherapist on group narratives and cycles of trauma; team-building activities
• Day 8 - Visit to Franciscan community; Visit to local mosque; women and peacebuilding
• Day 9 - Peacebuilding and exclusivism; practical application
• Day 10 - Goodbyes and departure

+ How much does the pilgrimage cost?

What is the approximate cost? Per-person trip costs vary, starting at about $1,600 USD per person. Group size, hotel/meal standard, and the length of stay all affect the price.

What is included in the cost? Hotel accomodation, all meals and non-alcoholic beverages, excursion costs, transfer to/from the airport and all bus transportation, museum entrances, speaker and guide honorariums, and Catalyze coordination and facilitation.

A portion of your payment supports the work of Bosnian peacebuilders. Thank you!

What is excluded from the cost? Airfare, health and travel insurance, gifts, additional gratuities, personal items, incidentals, short incidental taxi rides around Sarajevo, and anything not mentioned in “included” above. Also any additional nights due to flight itineraries or unforeseen changes to flights.

+ Why do you offer such a unique experience at such a low cost?

We see this pilgrimage as a critical first step to transforming our world and its conflicts, for both international participants and local Bosnian participants. Peace Catalyst International is not a travel agency; we are a peacebuilding organization. We hope and expect many of our Bosnian and international alumni to go on and become peacebuilders in their home contexts and beyond. Thus, we aim to make these experiences available to as many people as possible.

Please click here if you’d like to donate to a travel fund, which helps both local Bosnian people as well as internationals with significant influence or people with passion but who could not otherwise afford such an experience to travel with us.

+ How long are the trips, and can I join for part of it?

Pilgrimages to Bosnia & Herzegovina are typically about 8 full days on the ground, bookended by 2-3 travel days. As the trip is an immersive group experience we require participants to arrive on the same day for our welcome session and depart after our final session. Participants may choose to come early or stay afterwards at their own expense.

+ Can I join a trip as an individual, or do I need to be part of a community?

Our experience has shown us that transformation is typically “stickier” for communities who travel and learn together, therefore our pilgrimages are generally designed for groups who come from the same community. If you are a church pastor, university professor, or a community leader that would like to bring a group, please contact us or fill out the Catalyze interest form.

If you are an individual, couple, or small group that has heard about the Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage and would like to join another group please fill out the interest form and we can determine if there is a relevant group for you to join.

+ Is it safe to travel on these trips?

Safety of our participants is our top priority. We have deep, ongoing friendships with all our local partners, and we have security protocols in place. Bosnia & Herzegovina has not been an active conflict zone for some time and incidents of terrorism and violence have been few and far between (typically politically motivated, with far fewer incidents than in the USA or elsewhere in Europe). However, all participants must sign liability waivers acknowledging risks that always exist.

+ How physically demanding is the trip?

The trip involves a lot of walking and long days with multiple meetings and tours. We do our best to cater to all ages and abilities, so please be in touch if you have specific concerns.

+ What dietary options are available on the trip?

On a Catalyze pilgrimage, we make sure that you get to sample a wide variety of delicious local cuisines. We cater to vegetarians and those with mild food allergies, though it is more difficult to cater to vegans and those with more extreme nut allergies. Prior to the trip we will ask for your dietary requirements–but please let us know as soon as possible about any medical issues so we can do our best to accommodate your needs.

+ Is travel even possible with COVID-19?

At this time we ask travelers to be patient and flexible as the situation remains somewhat unpredictable. We are following all news and daily health updates on COVID-19, to keep you up-to-date about potential restrictions. As of May 26, 2022, BiH authorities have removed entry restrictions related to COVID-19. Or all information related to entry into BiH you can visit the BiH Border Police website. It is also wise to purchase flights that can be changed or refunded, as dates might be shifted if the health situation does not allow for safe travel.

+ We will be visiting vulnerable communities. Will we be welcome there? Is this poverty tourism?

This is a great question. As aspiring peacebuilders, the last thing we want to do is further harm or extract from already marginalized communities. The Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage was originally designed by local Bosnian peacebuilders in collaboration with PCI Sarajevo-based staff member Bryan Carey. Their primary goal was to design a learning trip that would support local Bosnian peacebuilding practitioners and build local awareness of and momentum for their work. When you travel on the Catalyze Peacebuilding Pilgrimage, you will be joining a community of connected individuals, working to transform BiH and our world. We have deep and long partnerships with communities on the ground, ensuring they have a say in how our programming is designed and executed. We offer significant honoraria to all our speakers. Lastly, we encourage all our alumni to become active after the trip by working as peacebuilders, deepening relationships with new partners in BiH and/or their home contexts, helping to fund projects, and advocating for peacebuilding work more widely. Our aim is twofold: to uplift the incredible peacemakers you will meet on the ground and to equip you to join them in peacebuilding work.