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Tolerance and open dialogue among young people as the key to building peace in the region
Tolerance, listening to different voices, interaction, dialogue, and mutual understanding. These are keywords that can summarize the first Regional Peacebuilding Academy, BCSP organized from December 4 to December 10 in Podgorica. During the five days, around 60 youth leaders with different backgrounds - politics, civil society, sports, arts, academia, and business, from Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina engaged in a series of activities in order to drive change and move toward reconciliation in the Western Balkans and to establish a regional youth network.
“For us in the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Regional Peacebuilding Academy, and the whole 15-month program that we prepared for the participants together with partners is a rich source of inspiration. We hope we will learn a lot from each other and establish strong links for the future”, BCSP Director Igor Bandović pointed out, opening the Academy.
Regional Peacebuilding Academy provided participants with the opportunity to get to know each other and to get ready to create a strong network that will enable them to work collaboratively toward reconciliation. The participants spent five days in Podgorica, where various topics were covered – the history of the Western Balkan region, conflicts in the region, foreign influences, the impact of memories of the past, narratives about various events, extremism in the region, identities in the region, human security and securitization, Icebreaker sessions were an important part of the Academy, as they helped participants develop tolerance and cooperation.
“The youth in our countries does not have the opportunity to actually properly talk and discuss and be open about all the issues that bother us, and we are surrounded with. We had fruitful conversations. I am definitely certain that the future is bright. At least somewhat brighter than it used to be”, pointed out Dženita Hasečić, a participant from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Participants coming from different ethnicities were openly communicating for five days, and after this experience, they will be able to share their thoughts and impressions within their local communities and contribute to reconciliation.
“I am very excited about the next activities, workshops, and meetings, with my friends now. Peace can never be achieved by force. It can be achieved by understanding”, said Blend Bllaca, a participant from Kosovo.
Participants managed to make strong connections and engage in meaningful conversations with participants from different countries, different sectors, and different cultural backgrounds. They showed a willingness to fight stereotypes and prejudices, which led them to the conclusion that they have more things in common than those that separate them. They recognized moderation and tolerance as the most important and universal social values, and they were excited to share their thoughts with other participants. Regional Peacebuilding Academy is just the first of many activities that will be organized for this group of young people in the next 15 months, including formal training, hands-on local activism, and cultural immersion.
“My expectation for continuing this program is definitely to build a bigger network that we already started here and to have some great ideas that we can implement into some projects and develop better communities in all countries participating in this program”, said Mirko Marić, a participant from Serbia.
The organization of the Regional Peacebuilding Academy has been supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the project implemented in partnership with International Republican Institute (IRI), Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), Faculty of Political Sciences University of Sarajevo (FPN UNSA), PRONI Center for Youth Development and Peer Education Network (PEN).
Tags: peacebuilding, western balkans, youth
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