OUR TEAM

Lejla Mulalić is an Associate Professor at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. Her work is closely intertwined with peace education, particularly in exploring the role of literature and cultural studies in fostering critical reflection, empathy, and intercultural understanding. She teaches literature and culture courses at undergraduate and graduate levels, integrating these concerns into her pedagogy.

Her research interests include contemporary British literature, with a particular focus on Scottish fiction, the historical novel, interdisciplinary approaches to vulnerability and the ethics of care, and the contribution of literary and historical narratives to peace education. As a member of the Peace Education Hub since its inception in 2019, she is actively engaged in initiatives that promote intercultural competencies and socially responsible teaching and research, and has served as its Chair since 2026.

Larisa Kasumagić-Kafedžić served as the founding chair of the Peace Education Hub from 2019 to 2025. She has been actively involved in peacebuilding, intercultural pedagogies, language teacher education, and youth development programs for the past 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in International Development and Education (2005) from Cornell University, where her research focused on the role of peace education and nonviolence in post-war healing and recovery through youth development initiatives. She earned her Ph.D. in English Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Education (2014) from the University of Sarajevo. Currently, she is a Full Professor at the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, teaching subjects ranging from language teacher education and critical pedagogy to intercultural and peace education in foreign language, culture and literature didactics.

Emina Dedić Bukvić is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pedagogy of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo. Her research interests are education of teachers and pedagogues, professional development of teachers and pedagogues, education policy in the region and further abroad, intercultural education. She is focused on pedagogical and didactic training in the study program within the schools of teaching and teacher education. In this area she is particularly interested in teaching intercultural education, peace education and nonviolence in micro pedagogical relations. She believes that by strengthening students’ skills for teaching intercultural education we will provide opportunities for citizens of the world. classroom and within the broader community.

Melisa Forić Plasto, was born in Sarajevo in 1980. She works as a teaching assistant at the History Department at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo. Since 2003 she has been a member of BiH History Teachers’ Association EUROCLIO HIP BIH, and currently holds the position of the Association’s President. She has authored and co-authored several history textbooks for elementary and secondary schools and also co-authored several additional teaching materials. She actively participated in several international projects dedicated to history education, culture of remembrance, and peace education in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. Her research interests focus on teaching methods in approaching history teaching and history teacher education, contemporary history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, culture of memory, educational policy, textbooks and peace education.

Minka Džanko is an Assistant Professor at the Department of German Language and Literature, University of Sarajevo- Faculty of Philosophy. She earned her Ph.D. in Conversation Analysis from the University of Mannheim, Germany. Her research interests include conversation analysis and ethnographic discourse analysis, focusing on linguistic and interactional asymmetries between participants in institutional settings such as medical and educational interactions. Her current work centers on identifying and examining bad and gut interactional practices and developing training programs to foster more inclusive, respectful, and equitable communication in classrooms and broader institutional contexts. Through her research, she seeks to contribute to the Peace Education Hub by advancing communicative skills and interactional practices that foster mutual understanding, minimize misunderstandings and face-threatening acts, and promote the development of peaceful communicative norms across diverse educational and societal contexts. 

Muhamed Kafedžić is a distinguished independent artist of Canton Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has extensive experience in international art and peace education projects. His work connects visual arts, intercultural dialogue, and socially engaged practices, with particular focus on memory, conflict transformation, and contemporary cultural narratives. He has participated in and contributed to international workshops and collaborations within the NGO sector, ERASMUS+ programs, and projects developed in cooperation with forumZFD, where art was used as a tool for dialogue and dealing with the past. Within the Peace Education Hub team, he leads the website design and supports IT and media-related tasks, while also contributing to the development and realization of visual arts projects.