#BiHCoolTura, a one-of-a-kind road trip across Bosnia and Herzegovina for young people, finished today in Banja Luka. This unique project of the European Union was an exploring and experience-gathering opportunity for a group of 20 young people from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the abundance of cultural, historical and natural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 7-day inspiring tour was also an excellent opportunity for young people to network and create lasting friendships.

The tour kicked off in Sarajevo, where the youth first visited the EU Office in BiH, to discuss issues relevant to the EU accession and how this process addresses issues of importance for youth.

After Sarajevo, the trip continued to Konjic, where they explored Tito’s bunker, and then headed to Mostar to visit the Old Bridge and many other city’s historical landmarks. The next stops were Stolac, Neum and Jajce, cities with a rich history and natural beauty.

“I believe that many today think how nice it would be to travel to different countries and states of Europe and the world, not knowing the abundance of natural beauty, wealth, and history actually hidden between our fortresses, within this mysterious nature hiding beautiful rivers and forests. The opportunity to take part in such a project is a great honour and a wonderful experience for me. I met my peers from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and together with them I visited cities that I normally passed through and never had the opportunity to stop and explore more. One of them is Jajce. Since I’m from Banja Luka, I’ve passed through Jajce several times and was unaware of all its landmarks and large fortresses that are actually there. I knew of waterfalls but never had the chance to see it up close, so I’m delighted with the city and the whole #BiHCoolTura project. I think young people rarely get the chance to travel together to get to know each other. So this is an extraordinary experience,” said Mia Selena Lerch from Banja Luka.

The road trip continued with a two-day visit to Banjaluka, where they visited the Kastel fortress and the city as well as an ethno village of Ljubačka dolina, near Banjaluka.

“I am glad to take part in this road trip taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We had the opportunity to meet and befriend other people from different regions of our country. The goal of the round trip is for us to get to know Bosnia and Herzegovina, which truly has so much to offer, but also to get to know each other. So I am very happy to be part of this team and I hope that in the future I will participate in as many similar projects as possible,” said Almir Mujić from Kladanj.

During the road trip, workshops on media literacy and photography were held with a professional photographer, giving young people the opportunity to learn how to think critically about media content and how to take professional photos.