Omar Al-Rawi, Member of the Vienna City Council and Provincial Parliament, took part in the official programme marking the Sarajevo City Day on 6 April 2026. Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig had asked him to represent the City of Vienna on this occasion. The programme included bilateral talks and a ceremonial meeting of the Sarajevo City Council.
The Sarajevo City Day is celebrated every year to commemorate the liberation of the city on 6 April 1945. The celebration also honours the indomitable spirit of the local population during the siege of Sarajevo, which started in April 1992 and lasted for almost four years. Omar Al-Rawi took the opportunity to exchange views with high-ranking politicians from Bosnia Herzegovina and other countries in his capacity as a member of the Vienna City Council.
Exchanging knowledge on key topics for the future of local policy
His meeting with the Chair of the Sarajevo City Council, Alen Girt, and Deputy Chair Svjetlana Šošić was dedicated to issues of local policy and development. In particular, it focused on the effort to clean up the Miljacka river, which has been defined as a high-priority project by the City of Sarajevo. City Councillor Al-Rawi introduced his local partners to Vienna's flood protection and renaturalisation measures along two waterways in Vienna, the Wien river and the Liesing brook.
The partners from Sarajevo were also interested in Vienna's know-how on innovative technologies to harness wastewater and excess heat, as well as in the framework conditions for private investors in housing construction in Vienna. The three City Council Members from Sarajevo and Vienna agreed that decision-making at local level is particularly effective in improving the everyday lives of the local population. Topics like modern local administration were the topic of further meetings between Al-Rawi and high-ranking national and international decision-makers, including the Mayors of Sarajevo and Ankara, Samir Avdić and Mansur Yavaş.
Sarajevo City Day - a beacon of solidarity
The ceremonial City Council meeting at Sarajevo City Hall marked the highlight of the programme. In his speech, Mayor Avdić emphasised that Sarajevo is a symbol of diversity, solidarity and peaceful coexistence. Avdić stressed that Sarajevo had always known how to defend what is good, and made a point of acknowledging the presence of the international guests. The meeting also included the award ceremony for the winners of the traditional Sixth April Awards for outstanding commitment. Among this year's winning projects were the Obala Art Centar for its role as the origin of the Sarajevo Film Festival, and the non-profit organisation Pomozi.ba. As always, the ceremony featured music performed by young artists and music students, showing that Sarajevo celebrates both its past and its future on this special day.
Further information
- Sixth April Award - City of Sarajevo (English)
- Renaturalisation project Liesing brook - City of Vienna (German)