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Svjetlana Markovic

Svjetlana Markovic

Bosnia Herzegovina

  • Program Year
  • 2015-17
  • Country of Current Residence
  • Bosnia Herzegovina
  • City/Town of Current Residence
  • Banja Luka
  • Current Position
  • Sauvé Fellow
  • Organization
  • Jeanne Sauvé Foundation
  • Profession(s)

  • Activist, Educator

  • Sector(s)
  • Advocacy, Communications (including media), NGOs, Social justice, Women's rights
  • Language(s)
  • English, Serbian, Italian, German
  • Mentor
  • Dietlind Stolle, Professor, Department of Political Science, McGill University; Adeela Arshad-Ayaz, Department of Education, Concordia University
  • Interest(s) / Expertise
  • empowerment of women, gender equality, human rights, politics
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Impact Statement

Svjetlana believes in a world in which men and women possess equal rights and equal starting positions, a world portraying society in which people are not divided by differences according to gender, economic status, religion, national identity and education level. She is passionate about leadership and meeting adventurous people whose work erases boundaries of divided societies.

Biography

Svjetlana coordinated the ”Women citizens for constitutional reform” initiative, which advocates for the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to ensure human rights and freedoms, with a special focus on gender rights. She has worked with Helsinki Citizens Assembly Banja Luka, in the area of Woman in Politics, working and advocating for the empowerment of female politicians.

While in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Svjetlana worked on intercultural exchange programs that provided enriching learning experiences and promoted intercultural awareness, tolerance and communication. She’s worked as a freelance trainer in the field of intercultural learning and integrated security for human rights activists, advising young politicians, facilitating and moderating different seminars and public debates.

Svjetlana finished her studies in Political sciences and as well as an MA in International studies at the University of Banja Luka. She has also enjoyed non-formal education, attending different seminars, particularly focused on leadership, human rights, political communication and intercultural understanding.

As a Fellow

In alignment with their program’s theme of Public Leadership for Culturally Diverse Societies, the 2016-17 Sauvé Fellows decided to collectively explore the complexities of refugee integration in Canada. To advance their learnings, they led a critical reading group, conducted site visits, and met with a wide range of relevant stakeholders, including refugees and parliamentarians. Their team project’s goal was to develop and pilot an approach to refugee integration in a holistic and practical way that delivered both impact and thought leadership while espousing core values of agency, inclusivity, fairness and cultural sensitivity.

In tackling the issue of refugee integration and implementing their team project, the Fellows wrote a policy brief (which they presented to several ministers while in Ottawa) and an op-ed, produced a short film on refugee experiences in Montreal as well as organized a series of public events exploring refugee integration in Canada.

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