Dayton and Sarajevo have been sister cities since 1999. In 2015, the City of Dayton played host to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, which were negotiated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and helped bring an end to the Bosnian War. During the multi-day event, the mayors of Dayton, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar signed a cooperative agreement to collaborate in multiple areas, including government, business, and education. In 2016, a delegation from Dayton traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) to build upon this agreement, and the BiH/Dayton Internship Exchange program grew out of this visit.

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This program is focused on developing the entrepreneurial skills of participating students by providing hands-on internships. The overarching goal of the program is to enhance the human capital of students in both countries through person-to-person business and cultural exchange. A secondary goal is to help build future business connections between individuals in both countries and increasing economic exchange between Dayton and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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The program began in 2017, which saw students from both countries travel to the other country for internships and entrepreneurial education. In Dayton, The Entrepreneurs Center led a business planning course for students from both countries. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, INTERA Technology Park led technical education courses and secured internships for students from Dayton. The Kettering Rotary Club played a crucial role in providing funding and homestay family support for the exchange program. In 2018, Dayton students traveled to Bosnia-Herzegovina once more, and in 2019 a group of students from all three partner cities in BiH (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar) will come to Dayton.

During the exchange, students live in homes with individuals in both countries, providing them with a unique cultural experience as they learn about life in a foreign country. The program is organized annually and the committee is always looking for new host families/individuals and partner organizations for internship locations.

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