The round table was held in the hall of St. Francis in the Province of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena in the Sarajevo settlement of Kovačići, and it symbolically marked the beginning of the gradual construction of the Movement for Ecological Conversion within the project of the same name launched this year by the CMO.

The moderator of the event, Alen Kristić, first addressed the attendees, who gave words of greeting and welcome and announced the event, which is "an answer to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor", and is also connected with the inter-religious meeting held by Pope Francis on June 6^th, 2015 in the same hall.

Encouraging meeting

Then, as the host of the meeting, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, spoke, referring to the meeting of the Holy Father with religious representatives in BiH in 2015, saying that today's meeting is an expression of concern for what the Pope is particularly fond of, which is the preservation of life environment, "our houses and the land from whose fruits we all live". He then briefly interpreted the content of the encyclical Laudato si' and the teaching of St. Francis concluded by saying that he hopes that this meeting will stimulate the awareness that "we have a responsibility for each other and the world we live in".

The audience was then greeted by the envoy of the reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Razim Čolić, who thanked for the hospitality and referred to the topic of the meeting, emphasizing the basic links between Islam and ecology. He spoke about the importance of meeting God's creatures, which is actually meeting "different and equal worlds". He encouraged those present by emphasizing that environmental protection can start in everyone's everyday life because "if people are part of this problem, then they must be part of the solution."

Respect for the environment and raising awareness

The apostolic nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, also gave a welcoming speech, who said that the Apostolic Nunciature welcomes this important series of round tables that work in the field of raising awareness of the (co)responsibility of believers for environmental protection and the necessity of systematic use of religious ecological resources in the purpose of promoting a just green transition of BiH society. In his address, among other things, he called for taking "resilient measures to mitigate losses and damages in the environment", because it is obvious that "we all want to win together".

Then the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, who at the beginning highlighted the occasion of the gathering, which is "the desire and effort of modern man to protect his environment from various threats that very seriously threaten the natural harmony and healthy relations of climatic conditions, natural forces and phenomena and the maintenance of animal and plant life, and all to the detriment of life in general and the human species".

He then explained why the Catholic Church and its theology deal with the issue of environmental protection, saying that it springs from its theological and metaphysical beginnings, where it finds the most significant reasons for its teaching. "All creatures should be respected because they are God's work, that is, they should be loved with God's love because, like man, they are his creatures, and only then because they are useful to man", concluded Msgr. Vukšić.

The word from the activist

Lejla Kusturica, activist and director of the Foundation Studio for Social Changes - ACT, addressed the audience in the form of a video message. She called from Ulog, from the Neretva river where, as she said, seven small hydroelectric power plants are planned to be built soon. "We are not giving up on the Neretva. According to scientists from all over Europe, it is one of the most important rivers of this continent precisely because of its diversity", said Kusturica, adding that 1 300 species were found in the Neretva last year alone, 24 of which were new to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and eight for science.

She said that there is a strong need to unite as many people as possible against the pollution of rivers, nature and people. She encouraged those present to continue the fight for rivers and forests because it is also a fight for humans.

Professional presentations

After that, four panellists presented their professional presentations to the participants, who from the Catholic, Islamic, Orthodox, as well as ecological activism perspectives thought about how they would work together in BiH society, drawing wisdom from traditions and the general circumstances from which people are coming, could (re)live the vision, message and values on which the ecological encyclical of Pope Francis Laudato si' rests: professor at the Franciscan Theology in Sarajevo, Ph.D. OFM Marinko Pejić, professor at the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy, University of Zenica, Ph.D. Izet Pehlić, dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Foča, Ph.D. Vladislav Topalović and a member of the association Eko akcija and the main and responsible editor of the Riječ i djelo (Word and act) portal, Ph.D. Svjetlana Nedimović.

At the end of the meeting, the president of the Centre for Peace Education Zdravko Kujundžija greeted those present, who invited everyone to continue socializing with refreshments in front of the hall of St. Francis.

The event was supported by USAID, PRO-Budućnost and CRS.