Dizzy

  • What Happened
    • Survivor Stories
    • History & Analysis
    • External Resources
    • Our Impact: Stories behind the Statistics
  • Our Work
    • About Us
      • The Charity
      • Staff
      • Regional & Country Boards
      • Academic Advisory Board
      • Community Champions
      • Ambassadors
      • Contact Us
    • Memorial Events
      • Find your Nearest Memorial Event
      • Resources for Event Organisers
      • Past Memorial Events
        • National
        • Local
    • Education
    • Lessons from Srebrenica
    • Supporting Community Action
    • Latest News
    • Videos
    • Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ
  • What You Can Do
    • Find your Nearest Memorial Event
    • Resources for Event Organisers
    • Educate
    • We Are One Football Tournament
    • Build Better Communities
    • Share your Stories
    • Visit Srebrenica
      • Our Visits Programme
      • Bearing Witness
    • Donate
      • Support our work Scotland
      • International Srebrenica Memorial Learning Centre
    • Jobs
  • Our Impact
    • Messages of Support
    • Download Annual Report
    • People Taking Action
    • In The Media
    • Inspiration – Music, Poems and Prayers
    • Memorial Day Reflections
Home Primary News University Confers Honorary Doctorate to Srebrenica Genocide Survivor

University Confers Honorary Doctorate to Srebrenica Genocide Survivor

Nedzad Avdic is to be given an honorary Doctorate for his outstanding commitment to Human Rights.

Nedzad Avdic

A survivor of the Srebrenica genocide is to receive an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bedfordshire for his outstanding commitment to Human Rights.

Remembering Srebrenica Ambassador, Bosnian Muslim Nedžad Avdić, incredibly escaped death at the hands of Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995 and has devoted his life to speaking out on the need to tackle hatred and bring communities together to prevent similar atrocities from happening to others.

Nedžad and his family had to flee their home after it was attacked and undertook a perilous journey to the “safe area” of Srebrenica. However, when Srebrenica fell and the town was besieged by the Bosnian Serb army, he fled again, aged 17, with his father and uncle. They were captured with thousands of others and taken to an execution site, yet Nedžad and just one other man escaped, after he was shot in the stomach, arm and left foot, but the bullet missed his vital organs. After lying among the dead bodies, they waited for a chance to escape through the woods to safety. Today, he is back living in Srebrenica with his wife and three daughters.

Mr Avdić explained what receiving the Honorary Doctorate means to him:

“I am honoured and immensely grateful to the University of Bedfordshire, because I feel that this is not just an award that has been given to me; this is an award for all those who fight for justice in a dignified way. It is easy to lose hope, but this Doctorate gives me back that hope and a new strength to keep going forward. I know that I must never stop telling the world that hatred cannot bring anything good.”

UK charity Remembering Srebrenica took staff and students from the University of Bedfordshire to Bosnia-Herzegovina on their ‘Lessons from Srebrenica’ educational visit programme where they met Nedžad and other survivors of the genocide. Following this, they also arranged for Mr Avdić to travel to Bedfordshire to speak to hundreds of students about his experiences last year.

Bill Rammell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, said: “It is our honour to confer this Honorary Doctor of Philosophy on Nedžad for his outstanding contribution to human rights. It is also a privilege that Nedžad will be delivering a lecture during his visit to the University.

“Nedžad is an inspiration to us all. In spite of all he’s been through Nedžad continues to reject hatred and campaigns tirelessly so that others will never have to suffer as he has.”

Following the graduation ceremony on Monday 24 April, Nedžad will travel to Gloucestershire to recount his experiences to school, college and university students there, along with Remembering Srebrenica’s Resad Trbonja, who lived through the siege of Sarajevo and now works tirelessly leading visits to help others learn from the Srebrenica genocide.

Remembering Srebrenica’ Chairman, Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, added:

“Nedžad’s dedication to sharing his story with young people is incredible and, although hearing such personal accounts of tragedy is moving and difficult, we have seen the impact it has on them. By teaching about the consequences of hatred through such first-hand testimony, we can inspire young people to take personal actions that help to build stronger, more cohesive communities and ensure Srebrenica is never forgotten.”

Remembering Srebrenica works to honour and remember the victims and survivors of the genocide and learn lessons from the worst atrocity on European soil since World War Two to show where hatred and discrimination can lead. It organises the UK Srebrenica Memorial Day on the internationally recognised day of remembrance for the victims of the genocide on 11 July and works with Community Champions across the country to put on over 400 other events. They also organise educational activities, such as the ‘Lessons from Srebrenica’ programme and providing free resources for teachers to download from their website.

Apr 24, 2017Amy Drake
MAKE A DONATION
Remembering Srebrenica remains committed to honouring the victims and survivors of the genocide.

SUPPORT US
SUPPORT US & PLEDGE
Make a difference, support our charity and all those affected by the tragic Genocide of Srebrenica. Pledge for our cause now.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
Remembering Srebrenica newsletter allows you to keep up to date with latest news, events and how you can support us.

SIGN UP
April 24, 2017 News
Sir Eric Pickles Visits Scene of Srebrenica GenocideDonate to Create the World’s First International Srebrenica Memorial Learning Centre
  You Might Also Like  
 
Mehri Niknam
 
YouPress video on Lessons from Srebrenica programme
 
July – September 2015
 Search 

Remembering SrebrenicaFollow

Remembering Srebrenica
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
9h

“No blacks' graffiti painted on door of 10-year-old's Salford home”. Greater Manchester Police @gmpolice should have taken this seriously but so should all of us. Complacency can too easily slide into complicity https://t.co/Fzb20vTwV7

23Twitter
Remembering Srebrenica Retweeted
lordnickbourneLord Nick Bourne@lordnickbourne·
16h

I hope that everyone celebrating today enjoys a meaningful #MaghaPuja with family and friends. Best wishes to all in the Buddhist community who are reflecting on the Ovādapatimokkha

26Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
12h

He told police he “hated Muslims" & attacked the Sikh clerk because he believed “he's Muslim”. Deeply worrying times where current dehumanisation of Muslims by Western media & politicians is making anyone who is a Muslim, or "looks" Muslim, a target https://t.co/zkXr5afA46

514Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
17h

Antisemitism is rising sharply across Europe, experts have said, as France reported a 74% increase in the number of offences against Jews last year and Germany said the number of violent antisemitic attacks had surged by more than 60% https://t.co/ey1lJ9TqMh

64Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
18 Feb

3. This is a phenomenon that was much wider than our village. There was no food in Srebrenica, and to a great extent, all the refugees survived by returning to their villages at night in big groups, risking everything, for about ten or twenty pounds of wheat, corn, anything.

Emir Suljagić@suljagicemir1

3. To je pojava koja je bila mnogo šira od našeg sela zapravo. U Srebrenici nije bilo hrane i sve izbjeglice su preživljavale u dobroj mjeri tako što su se noću u velikim grupama vraćala u svoja sela, rizikujući sve, za desetak ili dvadeset kila pšenice, kukuruza, bilo čega.

616Twitter
Load More...
 The charity 
A Project of Ummah Help. Registered charity no. 1142686. Registered company no. 7369796. Click here to find out more.
 Latest news 
Theme for 2019 – Bridging the Divide: Confronting Hate
February 3, 2019

Every year Remembering Srebrenica selects a theme that both reflects an aspect of the genocide that must be commemorated, but also speaks to communities here in the UK.

Remembering Srebrenica Comment on the desecration of the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial
January 8, 2019

We are absolutely disgusted that a bag of pig entrails was left at the Srebrenica genocide memorial on Orthodox Christmas Eve followed by the singing of fascist songs. This stands in contrast with the true meaning of Christmas, being that of love and unity. This vile, Islamophobic behaviour is not an isolated event, but comes […]

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
January 8, 2019

The Prime Minister tells us why she supports the work of Remembering Srebrenica and outlines what the government is doing to help victims of sexual violence.

 Remembering Srebrenica 

What happened
Survivor Stories
Memorial Day
Vistiting Srebrenica

 Site Links 

Homepage
Get Involved
Resources
News
Messages of support
About us
Get in contact
Sitemap

GET IN CONTACT

If you want to get involved with Remembering Srebrenica, or find out how you can help then please get in contact

SEND US AN EMAIL


2017 © Remembering Srebrenica. Privacy Policy
Website developed by Spyre Media