What is the worst thing you’ve heard about yourself? Have you ever been insulted because of your appearance, voice, or the way you speak? This is exactly the theme of the project created by the students of the Banja Luka School of Technology, “Body Shame – Shut Up and Endure”.
The team CREATIVE REVOLUTION was one of the winners of the Second Joint UPSHIFT Workshop of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia, held in April this year in Šabac. Over one hundred young people aged 16 to 24 participated in the workshop, and Milica, Anja, Ana, Lana, and Ema successfully competed against strong competition to win a grant of 3,000 KM.
“Our project is related to body shaming, that is, judging based on our outward appearance, how we dress, whether we are thin, whether we are fat, and similar things. With this project, we want to show that there is no ideal type of people and perfect body, that models on the internet use Photoshop and don’t look like that in real life, and we want to raise awareness about this issue,” said Ema Pelengetić.
Soon, the girls got to work and held workshops on the topic “Body Shame – Shut Up and Endure” for their peers at the School of Technology to draw attention to this problem and announce a performance. Additionally, in collaboration with the Foundation for the Development of Creative Industries “HAUBA” from Banja Luka, young artists expressed their views on this issue through drawings that were exhibited in the square during the performance.
“With our project, we want to achieve that there is no more judgment and that people have no problem talking about it publicly, that the ideal 90-60-90 look no longer exists. We want there to be as little mockery based on appearance as possible and for people not to feel bad when they see that people on the internet look better than them because most of it on the internet is fake, and everyone should be satisfied with their own body”, said Lana Savić, a member of the Creative Revolution team.
Our amazing UPSHIFTers put a lot of effort into planning and rehearsing the performance that was held at Krajina Square, with significant help from Boris Šavija, an actor from the National Theatre of the Republic of Srpska.
Finally, the awaited June 2 nd arrived, when the girls took to Krajina Square and showcased their performance, which garnered great interest from passersby who, after the performance, talked with our UPSHIFTers and shared their experiences on this issue. Visitors also had the opportunity to view the drawings created in the Hauba foundation, inspired by the theme “Body Shame – Shut Up and Endure.”
The UPSHIFT program originated in the UNICEF Office of Innovation and is implemented in 38 countries
worldwide. UPSHIFT in Bosnia and Herzegovina is implemented by the Humanitarian Organization
Genesis Project in collaboration with the Office UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina