First Scientific Conference of Doctoral Students of the University of Sarajevo | Reflections on Bosnian and Herzegovinian Statehood: Scientific and Research Perspectives and Responses

The "First Scientific Conference of Doctoral Students of the University of Sarajevo" on the topic "Reflections on Bosnian and Herzegovinian Statehood: Scientific and Research Perspectives and Responses" gathered 37 doctoral students of the University of Sarajevo in Sarajevo today, who will present their presentations over two working days and nine thematic panels.

The conference opened with welcoming speeches by Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović, University of Sarajevo Rector, Prof. Dr. Sarina Bakić, President of the Conference Program Committee, and Alija Jusović, President of the Student Parliament of the University of Sarajevo.

Rector, Prof. Dr. Tarik Zaimović, emphasized that the University of Sarajevo is proud of its doctoral students, who are its most important scientific and research force, and expressed satisfaction with the fact that they were the ones who independently organized the conference. He also emphasized that for every university, the moment when students become generators of ideas and initiators of processes is of particular importance, because it demonstrates their academic maturity, engagement and willingness to actively contribute to the development of the scientific community.

"The University of Sarajevo strives in every way to show how the academic community should act, which is to be a generator of new ideas and provide answers to all the difficult questions we face, independent of politics and all events," emphasized Rector Zaimović.

Speaking on behalf of the Conference Program Committee, Prof. Dr. Sarina Bakić emphasized that today's gathering is not just another academic event in a series, but that it represents a space for ideas, scientific approaches and different disciplines to come together and jointly consider one of the most important issues of our society today - the issue of Bosnian and Herzegovina's statehood, its continuity, contemporary challenges and possible development perspectives.

"I see the special value of this conference precisely in the fact that it brings together doctoral students, young people who have remained in the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and who represent the future of the scientific and academic community. Doctoral studies are not only the highest level of formal education, they also involve the development of research ethics, academic independence and the ability to analyze social phenomena critically, responsibly and with arguments," said Professor Bakić.

The President of the Student Parliament of the University of Sarajevo, Ali Jusović, emphasized that the organization of this conference - the First Scientific Conference of Doctoral Students of the University of Sarajevo - shows that the University of Sarajevo is not only a space for transferring knowledge, but also a space in which knowledge is created, developed and directed towards the most important social issues.

Mr. Miro Lazović, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 1992–1996, held an introductory lecture entitled "From March 1 to May 22, 1992 - the path to independence and statehood".

He emphasized that topics related to the status of BiH and all the processes that accompanied the acquisition of independence should be constantly opened up in order to attempt to revise those events, both in BiH and in the region.

He said that it is necessary to tell the truth about what happened at that time and especially the truth about the current status of BiH - which must become a state of full human rights and freedoms throughout its territory if we want to become an equal member of the EU.

The conference is an opportunity for students to publicly present their research related to a wide range of reflections on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on updating philosophical, historical, linguistic, sociological, political, cultural, communication, security, criminological, legal, economic, administrative, religious, pedagogical and sports perspectives.

The aim of the conference is to bring together doctoral students of the University of Sarajevo in one place and give them the opportunity, in accordance with their scientific interests and research goals, to contribute to the understanding and significance of Bosnian and Herzegovina's independence by reflecting on various scientific fields, disciplinary discourses and analytical research, as well as concrete presentations, exchanging views and creating joint conclusions.

The conference was organized by the Student Parliament of the University of Sarajevo with the support of the University of Sarajevo on the occasion of 22 May, the day when the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted to the United Nations as an equal member in 1992.