ROM 2015 Photo Album

ROM 2015 Photo Album: Renewing Our Minds Gathering 2015 – ROM 2015, August 1 - 16, Fuzine, Croatia. Several outstanding features make this ROM stand out in a special way. The first one was the outstanding quality of the group. This was a very much engaging group. Our small groups demonstrated this well. Although small groups are given 1.30 hours a day on average to meet, they would all meet for two hours, even longer, eagerly discussing the daily themes and questions. The second outstanding feature was the high quality of speakers and engaging nature of presented materials from the very first day to the last. This summer almost 50% of our speaking corpus were ladies. The third outstanding feature was the quality of prayerful support witnessed every day at ROM 2015. A vibrant and sizable prayer group met every day at 7am, before all the other daily activities would start, to pray for the participants and the team, and all daily activities to follow. These few sentences and over 300 pictures presented here (out of 1600 photos) are only beginning to tell the story of ROM 2015. 

As We Move into the Summer 2014

Ahead of us are two leading Forum programs in Fuzine, Croatia, EDI – Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum, 13^th – 27^th July, and ROM – Renewing our Minds Leadership and Reconciliation Gathering, 2^nd – 17^th August, 2014. Let’s be refreshed with the vision and objectives of Forum, ROM and EDI.

Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation is about advancing the Kingdom of God through development of leaders with noble, reconciled and serving characters, in tune with the teachings of and example of the person of Jesus. Forum’s mission is pursued through intentional, holistic, transformative and relational education, training, mentorship and coaching, as well as through development of serving and caring communities, and networking through strategic partnerships. Our vision is about developing leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world, and our two main initiatives are ROM – Renewing Our Minds and EDI – Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum.

Renewing Our Minds (ROM), an international reconciliation and leadership development initiative, with its roots in Southeast Europe (Balkans), has become a worldwide mission. ROM advocates forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking, loving one’s neighbor as oneself, integrity and leadership of service. It teaches young leaders how to embrace others and develop lasting friendships despite their religious, national and ethnic differences.  ROM is a mission that challenges paradigms and assumptions, refines the character of young leaders according to the teachings and example of the person of Jesus. For hundreds of young participants from 50 countries ROM has been life defining and life changing. Many alumni have emerged as leaders of influence, and are today making a difference in the political, social, humanitarian and religious arenas of their countries. A vision of ROM is about building communities through transformative leadership.

Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI) is built upon the leadership and peace-building principles of ROM to support the development of young professionals and students in the areas of economics, business and politics. EDI Forum believes that the best way to fight against corruption, greed and unhealthy rivalry between and within nations is to establish an economic and political community informed by the principles and character of Jesus.

Visit this place often during the summer months of 2014 for fresh updates about the progress of EDI in July and ROM in August. More to follow beyond the 2014 summer months.

Transformational Leadership Seminar in Romania

Photo: Participants attending EDI Transylvania Seminar in Sigishoara, Romania



Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum (EDI) is expanding its work and influence under the leadership of Justin Kagin, EDI Director. Mihaela Kovacs, the Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Representative for Romania is also the Project Director of a new EDI project, EDI Seminar Transylvania that took place last weekend (October 11-13, 2013) in Sigishoara, Romania. EDI Seminar in Romania focused on the themes of transformational leadership in business and politics rooted in the person of Jesus. In this interview Mihaela Kovacs highlights the reasons that made this first EDI seminar in Romania into a very successful project and a blessing to more than 60 participants attending the event. Time: 8.45 min.

ROM, A Life Changing Initiative

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Gathering 2013 was the fourteenth annual ROM Gathering held in the picturesque township of Fuzine, Croatia. Since the first gathering in the summer of 1999, ROM has remained consistent with its vision -“Developing leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world”.

A two-week long ROM Gathering 2013, 13^th – 28^th July, attended close to 60 young leaders from 15 countries. They came from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, as well as Australia, New Zealand and the US.

The 2013 ROM program, designed to be intentional, relational and transformational, majored on friendship development between young leaders of different faiths and ethnicities. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Muslims, and agnostics were present. The program focused on leadership of service and on leading young leaders to their own personal transformation in regard to forgiveness, reconciliation and peace building.

ROM Gathering 2013 was uniquely impacting and transformative in the lives of all attending. The intensity of mutually encouraging communication that has flourished between all participants since the end of ROM Gathering 2013 two months ago, as well as the contents of journals and surveys, witness to the depth of the impact.

“Initially when others told me that ROM is a life changing experience, I did not believe them. But now I can say that ROM 2013 has been a life changing experience for me”, said a participant from Romania attending a ROM gathering for the first time. “I am excited to be in relationship with world changers who long to participate in creating a world that transcends history of brokenness, fatalism and despair”, wrote a ROM 2013 participant from New Zealand.

A participant from Albania said: “This is what inspires me! In our own society to create the same society of genuine, loving friends that we had there in Fuzine, by loving each other with the great love of God!” And a 2013 team member from Macedonia reflected on her first ROM experience four years earlier: “I felt the infinite and unconditional love of God, given to me through the organizers and speakers at ROM 2009. I decided then to follow Jesus, and this was the beginning of my spiritual journey that truly changed my life and healed my past.”

One of the successes of ROM Gathering 2013 is seen in the number and quality of presentations delivered by young speakers emerging from within the ROM community itself.

While ROM Gathering 2013 enjoyed the contribution of a number of academically proficient professionals in the fields of peace building and leadership development from the world and the region, the strength of this gathering was the quality and variety of themes covered by speakers who were ROM participants only a few years ago; most of them from the Balkans.

Their presentations included themes such as human trafficking in the Balkans, serving the least in our communities such as the poor and children with special needs, and fighting the evils of ethnic and minority discrimination. Moreover, the prevailing themes at ROM Gathering 2013 were – leadership with personal and corporate integrity, forgiveness and reconciliation, and following Jesus of Nazareth as the best example in leadership and peace building.

Another success of ROM Gathering 2013 was the official launching of the first five Forum (ROM and EDI) Southeast European Representatives; the project had been in formation for a few years but came to fruition in 2013. Their role will be to coordinate the follow-up of ROM and EDI activities, as well as to assist the vocational and spiritual growth of ROM and EDI alumni across the Balkan region. Another four Representatives will be added in the summer of 2014 to complete the process of adequately covering the needs of ROM and EDI communities across the entire Balkan region.

In summary, every element built into a two-week long 2013 ROM program played a deliberate role in helping the process of education and transformation of all attending. Some of them were the Empathy Night, sharing evenings, lectures, workshops, various group activities, Café Dialogue, Trinity Forum, and purpose driven film nights and excursions.

In the heart of the 2013 ROM Gathering, however, were well-structured small groups. We had five small groups that met every day for two hours. It is within the privacy of a small group that the change of heart and transformation takes place in the lives of ROM participants.

In the past years ROM was governed by its founding organization, Life Center International (LCI) from Rijeka, Croatia. Since the end of 2011 ROM, as well as Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum, are governed from Seattle WA, USA by a new organization, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (Forum), while LCI remains to be the key regional partner in the ministry of ROM and EDI in the Balkans.

ROM initiative in the Balkans and beyond is unique in that it brings Jesus and genuine demonstration of His love into the heart of its reconciliation, peace building and leadership development curriculum. Therein is the secret of the high transformational impact of ROM demonstrated in the lives of hundreds of young leaders who have encountered ROM .

Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds, Director

OUR FOCUS AT THIS TIME

Renewing our Minds (ROM) initiative is an international movement of young leaders, with the roots in Southeast Europe (Balkans), that teaches young leaders how to embrace each other and develop lasting friendships despite their religious, national and ethnic differences. For the past fourteen years ROM has been encouraging young Balkan leaders to adopt a new paradigm – one of forgiveness, reconciliation, peacemaking, humanity created in the image of God, loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and leadership of integrity

There are four areas of a continuing strength and vibrancy of the Renewing Our Minds initiative. ROM is foremost a mission that challenges paradigms and assumptions, and refines the characters of young leaders. Then, it is a place where forgiveness and reconciliation are demonstrated realities. Moreover, ROM is a community in progress where loving one’s neighbor and leadership of serving are taught and practiced. Furthermore, it is the environment where all teaching ingredients are anchored in the teachings, example and following of the person of Jesus. All of those together form the life defining impact of the ROM mission.

Our focus at this time is on the 2013 Renewing Our Minds Gathering, a two-week leadership and reconciliation seminar in Fuzine, Croatia, 13^th – 28^th July, 2013. A selected group of fifty young leaders, from 15 countries, representing diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds will attend. Objective: To teach young leaders about forgiveness, reconciliation, understanding of the current issues, and leadership of integrity and service by exposing them to the teachings of Jesus.

Will you partner with us by helping our mission today? Please donate by clicking on the “Donate Now” button. Fill out the form completely. IMPORTANT: On the form under “Please direct my donation to:” select “Project Support”, and under “Select project of your choice” select “Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation”. Thank You!

REFLECTIONS ON 2012 ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY AND INTEGRITY FORUM

Justin Kagin, Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum Director, and the EDI 2012 team members Leo van Doesburg, Mihaela Kovacs, and Christian and Eunice Vatran, reflect on the Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum 2012 that was completed on Saturday, August 11, 2012 in Fuzine, Croatia.

EDI Forum This Summer

Economic Diplomacy and Integrity (EDI) is a new initiative designed to support the development of young professionals and students in the areas of economics, business and politics which are based in the life and teachings of Jesus. EDI Forum 2012 will take place in Fuzine, Croatia, 31^st July – 11^th August, 2012. A similar seminar took place in Fuzine, Croatia, in the summer of 2011. Watch this video.

EDI – ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY AND INTEGRITY FORUM THIS SUMMER

Building an Economic, Business and Political Community On the Principles of Jesus

Economic Diplomacy and Integrity (EDI) is a new initiative designed to support the development of young professionals and students in the areas of economics, business and politics which are based in the life and teachings of Jesus. We believe that the best way to fight against unhealthy rivalry among and within nations is to establish an economic and political community based on the principles of Jesus. 

EDI was established on the foundations of the 13-year peace building initiative Renewing our Minds (ROM) and later the 5 years of the Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS).  ROM evolved out of the need to heal relationships among ethnic groups after the wars in Southeast Europe applying Jesus’ principles as a platform for establishing friendship, forgiveness, reconciliation and lasting peace in the region.  From 2006-2011, the Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS) hosted over 200 participants, continuing where ROM left off, by adding economic and diplomatic principles.

This summer EDI is planning to invite 25 participants, and 15 staff and instructors for series of lectures, seminars, workshops and mentoring events.  Participants will be selected based on recognized leadership in their communities and recommendations of those involved with the program.

The program will be led by Justin Kagin, Director of Economic Diplomacy and Integrity, Leo van Doesburg, East European Representative of the European Christian Political Movement (ECPM), Tihomir Kukolja, Executive Director of the Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR) and ROM, Mihaela Kovac, Director of Baraca, and the executive team from FLR.

RDI objectives are: a) To engage young professionals and students (ages 18-35) primarily from the Balkan region; b) To facilitate the formation of new business plans and projects and assist in their implementation by developing a plan, working on logistics, and creating a network of support; c) To support professional networks by connecting current participants with former participants, and leaders in EDI and ROM; d) To practically apply the principles of Jesus through regional and community outreach of various kinds; and e) To highlight successful leaders in the region and create a space for them to share and invest themselves in a new generation of leaders.

The 2012 program content will include international speakers and seminars; small groups and mentors; workshops; field trips, and social events.

Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum 2012 will take place in Fuzine, Croatia, July 31 – August 11, 2012.

Join us in Seattle WA

Dear Friends in and close to Seattle WA,

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS) together formed a new umbrella organization, the Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR). Formed in November 2011 in Seattle WA, FLR is now poised to take the Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS), now called Economic Diplomacy and Integrity (EDI), to a new level.

FLR builds on the vision of ROM, to advance the Kingdom of God by nurturing international leaders of noble, forgiving, reconciled and serving hearts, and in harmony with the person of Jesus. FLR will pursue its mission through holistic, transformative and relational education, training and mentorship; as well as the advancement of caring and serving communities.

This year, the FLR Board of Directors and Executive Team are focused on establishing a firm and sustainable foundation for future growth, and on three key international events that would bring together up to 200 young leaders from 20 countries in the Balkans and around the world. Those events are Renewing Our Minds Gathering 2012, Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum 2012 in Fuzine, Croatia, and ROM/EDI Reunion 2012 in Ohrid, Macedonia.

Join us for the inspiring time of sharing the Balkan stories of conflict, reconciliation and faith, as well as to hear about the FLR vision and objectives for 2012 and beyond. The event is organized and sponsored by Balkan Task Force Seattle, and will take place at the University Presbyterian Church, Calvin Room, 4540 15th Avenue NE, Seattle WA 98105, on Sunday March 18, 2012, 6.00 pm – 7.30 pm. The speakers will be Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and FLR Executive Director, and the members of the FLR Board of Directors and Executive Team.

Welcome. Invite your friends.

Tihomir Kukolja

Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Executive Director

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Director

Your Gift Will Make a Difference

Photo: ROM Gathering 2011, Fuzine, Croatia

Dear Friends,

We have good news to share, as well as a request.

ROM and EDS together formed a new umbrella organization, the Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (FLR). Formed in November 2011 in Seattle WA, USA, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation is now poised to take the Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS), now called Economic Diplomacy and Integrity (EDI), to a new level.

FLR builds on the vision of ROM, to advance the Kingdom of God by nurturing international leaders of noble, forgiving, reconciled and serving hearts, and in harmony with the person of Jesus. FLR will pursue its mission through holistic, transformative and relational education, training and mentorship; as well as the advancement of caring and serving communities.

This year, the FLR Board of Directors and Executive Team are focused on establishing a firm and sustainable foundation for future growth, and on three key international events that would bring together up to 200 young leaders from 20 countries in the Balkans and around the world. Those events are Renewing Our Minds Gathering 2012, Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum 2012 in Fuzine, Croatia, and ROM/EDI Reunion 2012 in Ohrid, Macedonia.

We have everything in place to be a blessing to many young lives in the Balkans and the world in 2012. FLR revitalized the ministry of ROM and EDS (now EDI), through a new, committed and engaged Board of Directors and Executive Team, an experienced regional task team, discerning advisors, and the prayers of many friends.

Equally important is the financial support of friends who believe in this work. Remember that most of the young leaders attending and serving in the FLR programs, such as Renewing Our Minds (ROM) and Economic Diplomacy and Integrity (EDI), are from countries and regions with little or no financial means to cover the cost of their participation.  They need your help to attend, and your donation will make a difference.

Would you consider donating this year, and generously?

Thank you very much for considering our request. It is important that we know your decision soon. Please write to flrpartner@learecforum.org or give ONLINE TODAY. 

Love and blessings.

Tihomir Kukolja

Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Executive Director

Renewing Our Minds, Director