At the beginning of November last year, twenty individuals met in Charlotte, North Carolina, whose common bonds were love for the homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina and life in the United States marked by significant professional achievements. The leading idea of the meeting was to unite the energy and knowledge of prominent individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina in pursuit of the same goals: spreading and transferring professional knowledge and experience, establishing scientific and cultural cooperation with appropriate institutions in BiH and North America, connecting members of the diaspora professional foundations, encouragement and support for young, creative forces among our people, as well as the establishment of a professional database for members of the BiH community in North America, improvement of the reputation of Bosnia and Herzegovina both in the USA and Canada, and in other countries. After fruitful and lively discussions, the attendees agreed that the organization will be called the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) and that we have a lot of work and obligations ahead of us, among them the organization of the first annual Assembly of the Academy, which we have successfully managed to reach. Thus, in the past period, we legally registered the Academy, established the rules necessary for the admission of members, and then more than tripled the number of members, created a very impressive website, and through constant and passionate discussions, which were not all equally productive, we got to know each other better, became closer and became stronger as a group that far exceeds the sum of the individuals involved. Life and history flow too fast, and one rarely finds oneself at the very beginning of something worthy of respect and participation--most often we insert ourselves in the middle of the flow or join only at the end, and it is not difficult to miss everything that is happening. Therefore, it was not only a great honor to attend the founding of the Academy, but also a significant privilege to be involved in its growth and development, which reached its peak so far at the first annual Assembly, on October 4 this year in Chicago. On that day, we gathered to look back on the work done so far: reports were submitted, the Management Board was expanded, new regular members joined the work. Honorary members were also inducted: Tom Robb, whose kindness and generosity have helped many of our people, as well as Stevan Weine, whose work in psychiatry focuses on post-traumatic situations and who has helped many of our refugees recover from the horrors they left behind . Part of the program was a lecture by Dan Creson, who spoke about genetics, religion and madness, after which the audience joined in the discussion. It was obvious at the Assembly that our previous work was not at all negligible, nor will it be in the future, especially since all members had to balance their duties related to the Academy with a large amount of professional obligations--needless to say that the Academy solely depends on energy and voluntary activities of its members. Hence, one of the primary goals of the Academy in the coming period is to identify and recruit new members and include as many young people as possible in our work, to define the processes of cooperation and exchange with scientific and cultural organizations and individuals in the home country, to rapidly start work on a professional database which would grow out of our web site - yes, in a word, let's continue to connect as Bosnians and Herzegovinians in the USA and Canada who live and work on an emotional journey between past and future life, in the complicated space between personal relocation and professional fulfillment. If in a globalized world, in a world marked by tragic migrations, the strength of the homeland is measured, among other things, by the strength of its diaspora, then it is up to us who live and work in North America to show that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a better, more humane future.
Invitation for BHAAAS Annual meeting in Evanston
October 04, 2008 Hilton Garden Inn
Booking: contact Ms Alma Emso at 847-475-6400 (phone) or 847-492-6532 (fax) or [email protected]
Alternative booking: 1-877-STAY HGI or 1-800-HILTONS (to access the special rates request "BHAAAS Meeting" block.
Rates: 159+tax (only limited number of rooms is available at the special rate and only if booked before September 5, 08.) Strongly recommended to book the rooms ASAP since we are running of rooms quickly. Ask for a cancellation policy when booking a room.
Cruise:The Michigan Lake Cruise ship has very limited number of seats (Academy members have booking priority until September 5). In order to have a seat guaranteed all checks have to be in our office by the deadline). The cruise with a dinner costs $120.00 per person (a cash bar with beverages is available). Please send checks to Dr Indira Arnautovic 1133 N. Dearborn Apt. #1009 Chicago, IL 60610 (make a check payable to: BHAAAS for The lake Cruise). If somebody's seat is not confirmed in a follow-up email within one week after mailing a check, a check might be lost in mail and that person should contact Dr Arnautovic on the email address below."
Registration fee: $50.00
Program of the Academy:
8.00 - 12.00 am - Academy meeting (members only)
12.00 - 1 pm - Lunch
1.00 - 5.00 pm - General Assembly meeting of the Academy (public welcome)
5.30 - 7.30 pm - Academy Board Meeting
8.00 - 11 pm - Dinner and cruise on the Lake Michigan
Organizing Committee:
1. Eldin Karaikovic (President)
2. Aleksandar Hamon (Vice president)
3. Andi Arnautovic (member)
4. Indira Arnautovic (member)
5. Zlatko Haveric (member)
Guest speaker:
Daniel L. Creson, M.D.,PhD Professor Emeritus The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Lecture: "Religious Faith: Rational Creativity and an Invitation to Madness”
English
Bosanski
