In 1999, a small group of young people from the countries most affected by the Yugoslav wars - Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Serbia - gathered in Fuzine, Croatia for the first Renewing Our Minds (ROM) summer program. Twenty five years later, over 1,000 participants from dozens of countries have been part of ROM gatherings. And over 100 members of the ROM family, along with 50 children, joined together for a Regathering in Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina August 4-11, 2024.

In the early years of ROM the program was focused on reconciliation based on Jesus’ teachings, with a focus on the wars in Yugoslavia. As the years have passed, ROM has maintained its focus on its four original pillars, which former ROM Director Tihomir Kukolja presented at the Regathering: Friendship, Jesus, Reconciliation, and Leadership. However the vision and mission have expanded from focusing on reconciliation between neighboring ethnic and religious groups in the aftermath of war, to how we can be agents of reconciliation, or Ambassadors for a Better World, in every sphere of life and society. This ranges from interpersonal relationships to relationships between peoples and nations to our relationship as a society to “the least of these,” whether those be refugees, the disabled, the Roma community, victims of human trafficking, or other marginalized groups.

The theme of this Regathering reflected the broad scope of our mission: “React, Respond, Renew.” While the world is full of reaction videos on youtube, out-of-context soundbites and memes posted to social media, and polarizing speeches by politicians, we discussed how we can respond to the challenges in our lives and the world around us in a way that is healthy, effective, compassionate, and in line with the teachings of Jesus. The program of the regathering was dynamic, ranging from thought-provoking lectures, interactive discussions, relaxing downtime and friendship-building, with opportunities for hiking, swimming, and an excursion to historic Dubrovnik.

Our hope was for our past ROM participants to gather for a week to be refreshed and encouraged, but also challenged and equipped, and to renew past friendships and form new connections that can encourage and support them as they return to their jobs, schools, and communities.

Our speakers, workshop and small group facilitators, task force leaders, and team members worked together to bring the "React, Respond, Renew" theme to life holistically- equipping our participants to move past a passive reaction to events in their daily lives and on the global stage, and to proactively respond in a way that brings about renewal, both inward and outward, spiritual and social. This meant that we took the time to zoom out and focus first on our vision of a whole, reconciled world where shalom reigns through a session facilitated by Alan Cutting from the UK, followed by zooming in to talk about inner renewal.

Psychiatrist Nathan van der Velde from the Netherlands spoke about mentalization, while psychologist Mirela Popaja-Hadzic from Bosnia & Herzergovina led an activity focused on how we process trauma.

Next we moved to responding to society. Bryan Ross Carey, based in Bosnia & Herzegovina, led a session on Breaking Cycles of Reaction, discussing the steps to move from the Cycle of Harm triggered by traumatic events ranging from personal trauma to war, to the Cycle of Healing, which is our goal when seeking shalom. Then Noemi Mena Montes from Spain spoke about Reacting and Responding to the Media – how we can break the cycle of reaction cultivated by social media and learn a more thoughtful and productive response.

The following day was a workshop day, which allowed participants to “choose their own adventure” as they selected from a wide variety of workshops designed to dive deeper into the specific topics of the most interest and relevance to them, from art therapy with Neurographic Art, to The Role of Mentorship with Gabriel Ochayo from Kenya, to Courage in Crisis with Marko Marina from Croatia.

Our final day was focused on Renewal, leading off with an inspiring session with Heather Staff from the UK, “You Shine Lighter the More it Gets Dark,” sharing from her experience in UK politics, working for change on a local and national level. Then ROM Director from 2001 to 2019 Tihomir Kukolja spoke about some of the challenges and divisions that we face today and the importance of the four pillars of ROM for overcoming them, with a closing reflection from ROM Director Bojan Ruvarac.

Throughout the week lectures were supplemented and built on in professional tracks - small group discussions organized by areas of interest, such as the arts, law and politics, religious service, NGO and grassroots work, education, and business. This was a meaningful time of sharing challenges that participants face in living out the principles discussed in the day’s lectures in their contexts. We also had four task forces – sessions for those passionate about the specific topics of fighting human trafficking, protecting the environment, practical peacebuilding, and practicing disagree well principles. Here facilitators shared information and best practices and facilitated a discussion on how we can address these issues in our contexts. The main goal of the professional tracks and task forces was not just to build on the information presented in lectures, but to facilitate interactions and the building of new connections between ROM participants of different generations, professional fields, and geographic regions.

The other main goal of the event was for participants to return home full of a contagious hope, to know that renewal is possible, to know that they have like-minded friends both in their country and in neighboring countries, equipped with ideas, principles, and tools for flipping the script on reaction culture, and to bring about true and lasting change.

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