Desirée Sterner is a 25-year-old woman who dedicated her life to studying learning about worlds different to hers and giving her contribution to making the world a better place. One of the stops on her journey was Sarajevo. It left a strong impression on her, and she and Sarajevo just clicked.
This young Swede was a student of human rights and peace studies, and decided to engage in fieldwork to gain some practical experience. She decided to do it at the Institute for Youth Development KULT, where she is volunteering for an initiative implemented by the Institute in cooperation with the Olof Palme International Center, providing support to youth workers in BiH.
She has years of experience in the NGO sector in her country, and now has an opportunity to share it and learn with employees, scholarship holders and volunteers at the Institute.
“Ever since I can remember, I wanted to meet new people and see life from their point of view. I think it’s important to meet others, to share your experiences so you can understand them, and the society.” – says Desiree, who believes that every visit and every chance to learn about other cultures and societies makes her a better and richer person.
For this young woman, the opportunity to travel and take part in exchanges is a pleasure and a privilege, and she always tries to give back by using all the positive practices she learned in her own community.
For this young woman, the opportunity to travel and take part in exchanges is a pleasure and a privilege, and she always tries to give back by using all the positive practices she learned in her own community.
Since she already has substantial experience with youth work, coming to learn more at the Institute was a natural next step. During her stay in Sarajevo, Desiree is providing support to the team designing a training for expert youth work associates, or as they are more commonly known – youth workers, and she is writing several articles on youth work, comparing youth issues in Sweden and Bosnia. She says her experience at the Institute showed her all the ways to work with and for youth effectively, but that Sweden and BiH could learn a lot from each other.
She learns from others at the Institute, but she also teaches youth Swedish and English because she wants to thank the Institute for the hospitality and the opportunity she was given.
Desiree believes that volunteering is very important, and has a huge impact on the development of any young person by teaching them responsibility and encouraging them to take an active part in creating a better society. She says we can become better only by giving just as much as we’re taking.
Her stay in BiH, Sarajevo and the Institute will be an important experience and chance for her to introduce some changes in the way she works once she is back in Sweden.
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