The decision to postpone was made due to several serious challenges: political instability in both Bosnia and the United States, significant financial uncertainty following the defunding of USAID, and concerns for the health and wellbeing of our small organizing team. These circumstances make it unsafe and unsustainable to host the conference in Sarajevo this year.

Yes. We are currently working to reschedule the conference for a new location in North America later in 2025. Additionally, we are planning virtual programming to ensure accessibility for those who cannot attend in person.

All proposals are being re-evaluated in light of the new format. Once the updated location and format are confirmed, we will reach out to selected presenters with invitations and next steps. Your work and interest are deeply appreciated.

Yes. All donations will be redirected toward the new conference plans and our upcoming virtual programming. Your support remains essential to keeping the event accessible and impactful.

We deeply value your contributions and hope you’ll continue working with us. Volunteers will have opportunities to support the revised conference and virtual events. We will be hosting a volunteer informational session to discuss the new plans. More information about how to volunteer will be released shortly.

Many of our partners in BiH were affected by defunding and organizational closures. Out of respect for their circumstances, and due to limited resources, we will not continue requesting support from members of our community if we do not have the funds to pay for their time. We hope to engage them in meaningful ways in the future when it is safe and sustainable to do so.

We are seeing rising threats to freedom of speech, concerns for international travel safety (especially for visa and green card holders), the risk of secession and institutional instability in BiH, and increased cyber and personal threats to our team members. Hosting an in-person event in Sarajevo under these conditions would be irresponsible at this time, because the safety of our attendees, volunteers and organizers always comes first.

As threats to freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly continue to be an issue, we as organizers have serious concerns about the safety of attendees re-entering the United States as visa-holders, green card holders and for some even as citizens. We have never been fearful of stating an unpopular opinion if we felt that it was in alignment with our values, and this increasing crackdown on dissidents is extremely concerning and we don’t want to create a false sense of safety for our attendees considering this instability.

Bosnia is currently facing increasing political challenges with the ongoing threats of secession of the RS, the increase of lobbying power, an uptick in lobbying dollars the US, the undermining of judicial institutions in BiH, as well as the lack of follow through for the arrest of convicted criminal, Milorad Dodik. As a result, the largest institution that is responsible for documenting the genocide in BiH has closed its doors because of safety concerns for their employees. As we see it, a threat of secession is a threat of genocide, and we do not take this news lightly. 

As a result of the drastic defunding of USAID by the current administration, many of the organizations that we were partnering with to bring this conference to life in Sarajevo have had to close, either temporarily, or permanently. As a result  many people who we have worked with closely for the conference, have lost their jobs. We find it insensitive for us to continue asking for their assistance considering that we do not have the budget to pay them for their time, to make up for the loss in funding.

Please continue to check your email, follow our social media, and stay active in our Discord community to hear more from us. We’ll be releasing more information about how to stay involved soon.

If you’re interested in helping with the new plans, we’d love to hear from you directly.