Visoko and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–7 May 2026
When KAICIID brought together the second cohort of 'Creating Change from the Inside Out' grantees in Bosnia and Herzegovina this May, the setting was no accident. The Franciscan Peace Home in Visoko and the streets of Sarajevo; a city that has lived through some of the worst interreligious and interethnic violence in modern European history and come back, offered something no classroom could: proof that dialogue is essential, yet it is rarely used in a structured way to prevent societal divisions and foster reconciliation. Nowhere in Europe is this more evident than in the Western Balkans, which illustrate this ‘unfinished peace’ and the resurgence of tensions, standing on the brink of a new crisis.
Over four days, grantees from across Europe gathered for the official launch of KAICIID's European Policy Dialogue Forum (EPDF) Grant Scheme Capacity Building Training, the first step in a year-long journey to turn their project proposals into real, lasting change in their communities.
Three Tracks, One Mission
The grant scheme, launched following the 6th European Policy Dialogue Forum (EPDF) in Geneva in 2025, supports three distinct tracks of community action. Cities for Inclusion targets civil society organisations, religious leaders and actors in collaboration with local authorities working to strengthen inclusion through interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Catalysts for Cohesion supports young people between 18 and 30 leading community-based initiatives to build belonging and cohesion in their localities. And the Network for Dialogue track brings together its members pitching joint projects that advance dialogue-based approaches to refugee and migrant inclusion.
Different in scope and audience, these three tracks share the same underlying logic: that durable social cohesion in Europe's cities does not come from top-down policy alone. It grows from the inside out, driven by local actors who understand their communities and are willing to lead.
The EPDF Call to Action underpins all project proposals that are meant to foster durable social cohesion and environmental sustainability as the two sides of the same coin: human life and nature are inseparable, each sustaining and shaping the other. This also explains the choice of the Franciscan Peace Home as the venue for the workshop. Marking the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis in 2026, his enduring legacy stands as a powerful testament to the deep connection between human fraternity and care for the environment - values that lie at the heart of this initiative. and resonate across both faith traditions and secular commitments to human rights and environmental protection
Learning by Doing, in a Place That Has Lived It
The workshop was designed to do more than improve skills. It was built around experience.
Over four days, participants moved from first encounters to meaningful connection - experiencing dialogue not just as a concept, but as a lived practice. From sharing personal stories to walking through the layered realities of Sarajevo, they engaged with a place where coexistence is both fragile and deeply rooted.
Through reflection, skill-building, and open exchange, they explored how dialogue can bridge divisions and shape more cohesive communities. By the end, they left not only with practical tools, but with a renewed sense of purpose: to carry these conversations forward in their own contexts.
`I really enjoyed being part of this training. It gave me not only new perspectives, but also many practical activities and methods that we can bring back and use in Georgia within interreligious and international communities. For me, one of the most valuable parts was meeting people from different backgrounds and seeing how dialogue can genuinely create understanding between communities. Thank you to the whole KAICIID team for creating such a meaningful and inspiring space.`
Nina Chachkhiani, Catalysts for Cohesion Participant, Georgia
More Than a Training
What emerged over those four days was more than a set of skills. It was a network and a sense of community.
Grantees from urban inclusion work, youth-led cohesion projects and refugee integration initiatives found themselves in the same room, learning from each other's approaches, pushing back on each other's assumptions and investing in each other's success. Peer feedback sessions on the final day made this explicit: participants were asked to comment and strengthen each other's proposals.
`This training was extremely valuable for the implementation of our project funded through the Network for Dialogue grants programme. It allowed us to explore practical tools and key concepts related to interreligious dialogue, while also creating space to exchange experiences and build synergies with other projects across the network.
Being in Bosnia and Herzegovina made this experience even more meaningful. The local context of interreligious dialogue is a powerful testimony for our own realities, opening new perspectives and helping us think from lived experiences. Learning from the local context, its challenges, and its history deeply enriched the way we understand our project and the plan we want to implement.`
Pedro Santos, MEERU, Portugal
At the heart of KAICIID’s approach is a commitment to stand alongside local secular and religious actors - the true engines of change - who are best placed to shape the social pact so that communities can live together with a genuine sense of respect, recognition, and appreciation of each other’s dignity. This means embracing diversity as an integral part of who we are, and recognising that peaceful coexistence is something communities shape and nurture together.
The 'Creating Change from the Inside Out' scheme reflects that philosophy. The workshop in Sarajevo was a beginning, not a conclusion. Grantees will now return to their communities and begin implementation, supported by KAICIID Europe Region Programme mentoring and the peer network they have started to build.
Europe's social fabric is under real pressure. Fragmentation, inequality and discrimination are not abstract policy problems. They play out in schools, neighbourhoods, city councils and community halls across the continent every day. The grantees who left Sarajevo this week are part of a quiet yet constant effort to address these challenges from within the communities that experience them most directly.
They leave with more than funding. They leave with a practical understanding of how dialogue works, a network of peers doing similar work, and a framework for turning the EPDF Call to Action into something tangible.
The work starts now.
The 'Creating Change from the Inside Out' EPDF Grant Scheme connects and upskills a growing network of changemakers across Europe advancing interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Grantees will deliver projects throughout 2026, supported by KAICIID mentoring, peer exchange and institutional resources.
Learn more about the EPDF Grant Scheme at kaiciid.org/epdf