Velma Šarić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Velma is a researcher, journalist, peacebuilding expert, and human rights defender from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Velma has around 20 years of work experience and is currently, the Founder and President of the Post-Conflict Research Center and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Balkan Diskurs.
Velma holds an MA Degree in Political Science from the University of Sarajevo. At the beginning of her career, she worked for five years as a researcher at the Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law in Sarajevo, primarily focusing on investigating the crime of genocide and other mass atrocities.
Velma is a journalist, trained at the BBC Reporting School. As a journalist at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in London and The Hague, Velma spent eight years reporting on war crimes trials and investigating transitional justice processes in the former Yugoslavia.
As a researcher and producer, Velma has worked on numerous publications and films about the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, including Uspomene 677, Ordinary Heroes, Unprotected, In the Land of Blood and Honey by Angelina Jolie and I Came to Testify & War Redefined from the PBS series Women, War & Peace.
Velma is a Columbia University fellow, having attended the Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability Fellowship Program. In addition, she is a fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation, Global Post’s GroundTruth Project, and Vital Voices’ Global Ambassadors Program.
”Whoever is afraid of feminism, is afraid to admit and accept that, fundamentally, women are strong beings. In various societies, over centuries, political leaders have made use of many skills and tricks to keep women power under control. On the other hand, power comes with responsibility – always. Admitting that you are strong means taking responsibility for this power. Sometimes that overwhelms.”
