Balkans 35th Commemoration — Web Design & Development for Veteran-Led Peacekeeping Memorial Initiative
about the client
Balkans 35th Commemoration is a volunteer-led initiative to honor and preserve the legacy of Canadian veterans and personnel who served in the Balkans between 1992 and 2004. The project brings together veterans from the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, CBSA, CSC, CIDA, and other agencies to commemorate their service, provide a space for veteran stories, recognize fallen comrades, and foster awareness, solidarity, and mental-health support for veterans and their families.
Their website features rich content including mission statements, historical timelines, veterans’ stories, event information, donation and participation options, galleries of photographs, mental-health resources, and an events calendar — all meant to serve both as an archival memorial and a living, community-powered platform.
Project Overview
Our Role
As part of our commitment to supporting meaningful community initiatives, Rapid Fire Web Studio partnered pro bono with Balkans 35th Commemoration to design and develop an accessible, dignified, and emotionally resonant website. Our goal was to transform their vision into a digital hub that could:
- Serve as a respectful memorial and archive
- Offer a user-friendly, intuitive navigation of complex historical content and veteran stories
- Provide features for community engagement, such as story submission, event participation, and donations
- Accommodate multimedia (photos, timelines, galleries) and structured content across languages (English/French)
The Challenge
- Diverse Content Types & Structure — The site needed to present varied content: historical timeline, veterans’ personal stories, event listings, mental-health resources, donation calls, photo galleries, multilingual content — all in an organized and coherent way.
- Scalability and Maintainability — As the community grows (more stories, events, resources), the site must be easy to update and maintain over time without breaking layout or usability.
- Accessibility & Usability for a Broad Audience — The site may be used by veterans, family members, supporters, historians, and general public. It must be accessible, responsive, intuitive, and performant across devices.
Our Solution & Implementation
- Scalable, CMS-backed Architecture: We set up the site with a content management system (CMS) so the administrators can add new veteran stories, events, photos, resources, and multilingual content without needing developer intervention.
- Multimedia & History Presentation Tools: Integrated features such as a historical timeline, story submission forms, image galleries, events calendar, and easy-to-use donation/participation calls-to-action — all wrapped in a responsive, accessible UI/UX.
- Performance & Accessibility: We optimized for performance and responsiveness so the site loads smoothly and works well on desktop, tablet, and mobile — ensuring the story and tribute reach as many people as possible.
Results & Impact
- Empowered Community Engagement — Through features like “Contribute your story,” donation/participation buttons, and events calendar, Balkans 35th Commemoration can grow as a community-driven initiative, not just a static memorial.
- Centralized, Living Archive — The new website brings together history, personal stories, events and resources into a single, structured, and living platform.
- Enhanced Accessibility and Reach — A clean, intuitive, and responsive design ensures a wide audience — from older veterans to younger supporters — can access the site easily on any device.
conclusion
The collaboration between Rapid Fire Web Studio and Balkans 35th Commemoration resulted in a respectful, powerful, and functional website — one that honors the legacy of Canadian peacekeepers in the Balkans while giving veterans and their communities a living, interactive space to remember, share, and connect.
As a pro bono partnership, this project reflects our commitment to supporting initiatives that preserve history, elevate community voices, and create spaces for healing and remembrance. Through thoughtful design, scalable development, and careful attention to content structure, we helped transform the organization’s vision into a meaningful digital memorial and community hub.
If you share a mission of honoring service, preserving history, or building community — we’d be proud to help bring your vision to life.
Rapid Fire Web Studio did an exceptional job of helping us create the Balkans 35th Commemoration website. They quickly provided a structure for the website and when we asked that the site be bilingual they quickly pointed in the right direction to purchase translation software. They also ensured that our francophone secretary had the proper editorial tools so that she could correct the translation software. No matter what we requested Karina and her team ensured that our requests were quickly fulfilled. It was fantastic working with them.
Paul Hale, Chair
