- UNO's Civic Engagement Fellowship Program, BOLD, is suspended due to a presidential Executive Order.
- The Executive Order halts most foreign assistance grants globally for a review.
- BOLD was established in 2020 and began its first cohort in 2022.
- Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro engaged in democracy workshops.
- The program's suspension affects international student engagement and cultural exchange.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
University of Nebraska Omaha's Civic Engagement Fellowship Program, BOLD, is halted. After an Executive Order of the President of the United States, suspended almost all foreign assistance grants worldwide, pending a global review.
Watch Hannah's story:
The program was developed in 2020 and welcomed their first group of participants in 2022. Students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro spend the summer in Omaha, participating in workshops geared towards the principles of democracy, ethnic and religious tolerance.
Abigail Faris is a student at UNO, she helped guide visitors through the program.
"Being able to share and create all of these new friendships was an amazing moment in my life and probably one of the things I will never forget," said Faris.
She says these temporary classmates had a big impact and she has even traveled to the Balkans to visit them.
"I learned a lot about resilience a lot of them have had different roadblocks and obstacles with the projects that they're doing and so them being able to come overcome those as well as like work through all of the different experiences that they've had that their parents have had that was really interesting to talk about I know a lot of my friends have said that like the bold program was the reason that they're doing so well now back in like their careers or further adventures in university," said Faris.
The program received a half a million-dollar grant but, that is now under review, because of President Donald Trump’s executive order "Reevaluation and Realigning United States Foreign Aid."
Though the grant money falls under foreign aid BOLD's Program Director Dr. Lana Obradovic says that money the program receives goes back into our local economy.
"Our students stay in Aksarben hotels, and some of these hotels make over $70,000. Over a month that we host those students and so $70,000 is a considerable amount of money that a local hotel will lose, all of their food all of the money that they spend on food is spent in Omaha," said Obradovic.
The program has brough over 90 students from the Balkans to Omaha. During their stay they go on two trips, a three-day visit to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National Park in South Dakota, and week-long tour of New York City and Washington, D.C.
Dr. Obradovic says these trips help shape young Balkan leaders, many of which have been touched by war in their region.
"This is a great program that benefits the local economy, that benefits our students, and that benefits larger United States foreign policy in that region that shows that we are connected, that we understand what is happening, and that we are raising the next generation of leaders over there," said Obradovic.
While in the Omaha, students are honored by the city and state of Nebraska and given honorary citizenship.
"This program is not just something that sort of exists somewhere else, but rather these students come to our community and get to know our community leaders, our government leaders, and, and really, try to get what's best in Omaha and, and try to take it home so that they can create better communities back home," said Obradovic.
Dr. Obradovic said about 90 days until they learn the results of the governments review and the future of their program.
