Bruno Kreisky Foundation

for Human Rights

World University Service (Austria)

The World University Service is an Austrian organization that was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize due to their work with Bosnian college students. Many promising Bosnian students’ studies were disrupted by the outbreak of war in then Yugoslavia. WUS provided aid to these students on many fronts. They gave financial support to the universities in Bosnia-Herzegovina that still existed, as well as aid to Bosnia students studying abroad in Croatia. Discrimination from Croatian people towards Bosnia students of Islamic backgrounds often prevented them from completing their studies. The World University Service worked to give Bosnian college students a chance to finish their studies in Western European countries. Many of these students ended up in Austria and Germany. The award money from the Kreisky Foundation was used by the World University Service as financial aid to displaced Bosnian students in Austria. A representative of the WUS stated that they hoped the situation would improve and that peace would come to the Yugoslavian region in the not too distance future. The World University Service is currently organizing seminars on human rights and development for university students, and is supporting the International Week Against Racism. (http://www.wusgermany.de).