Congresswoman Johnson gives keynote address at event

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson was a keynote speaker at today’s Bosnian Women’s Day on Capitol Hill, which was hosted by the Bosniak-American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The theme of this year’s event was “Women’s Empowerment through Art: The BosFam Weavers for Hope.”

Munira Beba Hadzic, the Executive Director of BosFam, founded the organization in 1994, during the Bosnian War, as a center for refugee women to gather, talk and knit.  BosFam has evolved into an organization that gives its members the opportunity to support their families and rebuild their communities through traditional weaving and income-generating craft projects.  Ms. Hadzic gave a keynote address and shared one of her craft projects, a quilt.  Quilts made by other BosFam members were also on display. 

“I have had the privilege of traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War, and I knew that if women were involved, peace would come,” Congresswoman Johnson said.  “But no peace can be done by one person, or even by one country.  Nobody likes war, but it will take all of us saying, together, that we will work for peace.  I commend BosFam and the work it is doing.”

Other speakers at the event were as follows:

• Elmina Kulasic, Executive Director, Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Sebastian Gräfe, Program Director for Foreign & Security Policy and Transatlantic Issues, Heinrich Böll Foundation
• Iain Guest, Executive Director, The Advocacy Project
• Bisera Turkovic, former Bosnian Ambassador to the U.S.

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U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.