BHeart Report for 2019

Dear Friends,

BHeart had a wonderful year! We hope for an even better 2020 with your continued support!

Before 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to share a few words about the projects and events that marked this year for BHeart.

In furtherance of our mission to promote Bosnian-Herzegovinian heritage in the U.S. and to strengthen our local diaspora community, we launched BHeart Talks and Events Series. Our inaugural event took place in May–a presentation by Dr. Alexander Lupis, a clinical psychologist, entitled Opportunities and Challenges in Raising Multilingual Children. The well-attended event, held at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, provided many helpful tips to promote and encourage multilingualism at home.

In October, we organized a concert by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian acclaimed musical duo, Merima Kljuco, accordionist, and Jelena Milusic, vocalist, at Sidwell Friends School. Amazingly talented and engaging, Kljuco and Milusic performed love songs from their album Lume, inspired by Sephardic, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, Kosovar, and Cuban melodies. The turnout was great,
as was the energy and interaction between the musicians and the audience in the packed, intimate setting.

Bosnian and Herzegovinian School of Language and Cultural Heritage continues being delightfully diverse with participation from parents and children from all over the Balkans and the world. Children, divided into three groups according to their age and knowledge level, enjoyed our project-based curriculum, including field trips to the Zoo and Rock Creek Park, and development of their own theater production.

Especially significant was the partnership we established with Creativus, an educational center in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our connection with Creativus enriched our school’s program and encouraged communication between our Washington-based students and their
peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Children sent video-messages to each other each week discussing topics such as their surroundings, their school, and their families.

Our School ended its fall semester with a unique show in which children and parents discussed their childhoods and growing up, each from their own perspectives. The event ended with a big surprise – a visit from Santa Claus!

In addition to the children’s program, we started classes for adults this fall! We quickly filled the class to capacity, and received very positive feedback from attendees. We will continue to offer beginner and intermediate level adult Bosnian language classes in the coming year.

Registration is currently open for both youth and adult students.

We hope you have joyous winter holidays and wish you a wonderful 2020!

BHeart is a volunteer organization and your help at the end of the year would be greatly appreciated!

Warm wishes from all of us!
BHeart

Download the 2019 Report