Nadja Halilbegovich

Nadja Halilbegovich was born on July 29, 1979.  She was twelve when the war broke out in her native country Bosnia.  Throughout the next three and a half years, she and all the citizens of the capital Sarajevo suffered from continuous shelling and the deprivation of basic needs.  In 1992, Nadja was wounded by a bombshell. She still has seven pieces of shrapnel in her legs. During the war, Nadja began sharing her poetry and diary entries on the National Radio. Soon, she had her own radio show called “The Music Box.”  In 1993, four of her poems were featured in a book Mom, I Don’t Want to Go to the Basement.  A year later, at fourteen, Nadja’s diary Sarajevo Childhood Wounded by War was printed in Bosnia.  She became known as the Bosnian Anne Frank, and the National Dutch Television created a documentary about her life. 

Nadja's biography

Topics include:

• Peace

• Tolerance and Acceptance

• Character Education

• Inspiration

• Overcoming Adversity

• Writing

• Music

Preferred grade levels:

Grade  6 to 12

Speaker fee: $500 (price is negotiable)

Contact information:

Nadja Halilbegovich

Email:    nadja_peace@yahoo.com

This posting has been reviewed by the Peel District School Board. This posting is provided as a resource to students and teachers--it is not intended to be an endorsement by the Peel District School Board of any specific organization or program.