The Maryland-Bosnia and Herzegovina Exchange Council (MBHEC) was proud to participate in the BiH Diasporic Conference 2026, held June 5–7 in Chicago, Illinois. MBHEC attended as the Merak Sponsor of the conference, a designation that reflects our organization’s commitment to investing in spaces where the Bosnian-American community can gather, reflect, and grow.
MBHEC was represented at the conference by Andrea Pozderac, Senior Program Analyst, who joined Bosnian Americans from across the United States and Canada over three days of programming centered on identity, cultural heritage, and the evolving character of diasporic life.
The conference opened on the evening of June 5 with a networking reception, offering participants the opportunity to connect before the full program began. The main conference day on June 6 featured keynote addresses by Jadranka Miličević and Ado Hasanović, award-winning film screenings, and a series of workshops exploring themes of culture, values, advocacy, and what it means to sustain a living community across borders and generations. The conference theme Roots in Motion: Naša Zajednica in the Making framed these conversations with both historical grounding and a forward-looking spirit, acknowledging that Bosnian identity is not static, but something actively shaped and carried forward.
During the conference, Ms. Pozderac also facilitated a focus group discussion with participants from the Bosnian diaspora. The session offered an opportunity to gather valuable insights and perspectives as part of a broader research study led by MBHEC and the Institute for Development Impact (I4DI), in partnership with Yale University and the University of Sarajevo. Titled Peace-Centered Statecraft: Cooperation Across Divisions in BiH, the study explores how civic and state actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina build or struggle to build cooperation across social, political, and institutional divisions.
MBHEC extends its sincerest appreciation to the BiHDC organizing team for their exceptional work in bringing this event to life. Conferences like this one are essential infrastructure for the diaspora, creating the conditions for relationships, dialogue, and collective reflection that no virtual platform can fully replicate. We look forward to continued partnership with BiHDC and to the collaborations that will grow from the connections made in Chicago.
