Conference on Psychosocial Support to LGBTI Persons on December 15th in Sarajevo

Sarajevo Open Centre and Wings of Hope Foundation invite you to the conference titled „LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and mental hralth protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina“ that will take place in Sarajevo Hotel Holiday (Zmaja od Bosne 4), in the Neretva hall, on the 15 December 2022.

Since the beginning of 2021, Sarajevo Open Centre and the Wings of Hope Foundation have been implementing the project Regionalising LGBTI inclusive psychosocial support and access to mental health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded by the European Union. The project is coming to an end, a lot of important and necessary things have been achieved, and the final conference is an opportunity to summarize everything – results, findings, models of cooperation with different actors, but also obstacles, difficulties and future challenges.

We started providing support in civil society organizations, which has proven to be very significant and necessary; through media campaigns we talk about the importance of caring for the mental health of a specific part of society – the LGBTI community; we held trainings to strengthen the capacity to provide sensitized and inclusive psychosocial support to LGBTI persons in centres for mental health and social work, as well as meetings with relevant public institutions for mental health and social protection; laid the foundations of an informal network of inclusive organizations, but also of LGBTIQ+ persons and their parents/families.

We would be pleased if you’d participate in the conference discussions and contribute to the sensitization efforts of professionals in this field and the LGBTIQ+ community itself. The agenda of the event, which will be organized through three panels, is available here:

I – Provision of psychosocial support in public mental health and social protection institutions;

II – LGBTI persons on the needs and challenges in the field of health and social protection;

III – Sensitized and inclusive psychotherapy work and peer counselling in civil society organizations.

Please confirm your participation in the conference as soon as possible by e-mail: [email protected], no later than December 9, 2022 until the end of the working day, so that we can take care of all the details with quality and time.

The travel costs to Sarajevo and back, as well as accommodation in Sarajevo, are covered by Sarajevo Open Centre until available places are filled. We kindly ask that you emphasize during your application whether you will need travel expenses reimbursement and/or hotel accommodation.

The goal of the project is to create an environment in which LGBTI people will be encouraged and supported in accessing social protection and mental health systems that provide inclusive and sensitized services. Since the protection of mental health and general social well-being of LGBTI people is often surrounded by stigma and prejudice, Sarajevo Open Centre and the Wings of Hope Foundation in partnership realize a series of activities that would provide safe, inclusive and accessible places of support for LGBTI persons.