There are places where peace is not a formula but a practice, one that requires presence, listening and continuity. It was in this spirit that, from 7 to 13 March 2026, a delegation from Rondine Cittadella della Pace carried out a mission in the Balkans, visiting Sarajevo, Belgrade and Novi Sad with the aim of consolidating long-standing relationships, opening up new avenues of collaboration, and strengthening dialogue with the region’s civil society and institutional stakeholders.
Particularly significant was the meeting at the Italian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Ambassador Sarah Eti Castellani, who welcomed the delegation and reaffirmed the attention Italian institutions continue to devote to initiatives grounded in dialogue, responsibility and the building of relationships in some of the most sensitive areas of the European continent.
The mission also carried strategic value in terms of future planning: it provided an opportunity to launch in the Balkans the selection process for the 2026–2027 World House programme, one of the pathways through which Rondine continues to invest in younger generations and in the possibility of transforming conflict into encounter. At the same time, the trip offered a valuable moment to reconnect with the Rondini d’Oro who had returned to their home countries after completing the programme, strengthening bonds that, over time, grow into a network, a testimony and a community.
For Rondine, returning to the Balkans means returning to one of the symbolic places of its vocation: a region where the fractures of history still call to be inhabited with courage, method and responsibility. It is within this horizon that the March mission takes its place: not as a simple institutional visit, but as a concrete act of presence, relationship-building and commitment to the future.
