Intercultural Internships in Bosnia
Conversation with Chris Bragdon, Founder and Executive Director for BILD - Bosnia Initiatives for Local Development 

The projects of BILD began December 14, 1996, when BILD’s Executive Director, Christopher Bragdon, arrived in Tuzla from the United States. He arrived at Tuzla’s bus station with a backpack, two duffel bags, a dictionary, thousands of dollars in his boots, and an intention to help the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Four years prior in 1992, the war in Bosnia had begun leading to 10’s of thousands of innocent and defenseless civilians being murdered just because of their ethnicity. The war ended in 1996 with the intervention of 60,000 NATO-led peacekeepers as part of the Dayton Peace Accords.  Throughout the war, in news reports, he had read about the horrors being perpetrated, but he also heard about a place called Tuzla, a city known for its tolerance, a place where people of different religions and different cultures maintained solidarity even when being torn at by a violent genocidal aggression not seen in Europe since World War II. 

The Tuzla Summer Institute (TSI), one of several BILD projects developed in the past 15 years, is a four week intensive educational program teaching practical skills to high school students, university students and local professionals. TSI's curriculum includes English, pedagogy, computer science, business, and organizational development. All classes are taught in English. TSI is open to students from all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.  TSI's mission is to help prepare participants for their university education, their professional careers, and their roles as citizens in a secular multi-ethnic democratic society. Learn more about internship possibilities with this community-driven initiative.

Find out more about BILD here - www.bildbosnia.org and see a short video produced by Cornell University about the Tuzla Summer Institute here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcm7M8zC7qg