2010 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE PEOPLE BUILDING PEACE ARTS COMPETITION...2 GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS...3 COLABORATION BETWEEN GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS AND INSTITUTIONS...4 REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATIONS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS 2009...6 SERBIA...6 CROATIA...6 MONTENEGRO...7 REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATIONS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS 2008...7 SERBIA...7 MACEDONIA...8 MONTENEGRO...8 Editor: M. Vitas GPPAC Western Balkans NDC Serbia 21/09/2010 Articles and photos: M. Vitas and D. Šarengaća Proofreader: S. Došljak NDC Serbia 1
The UN proclaimed the 21 st of September as the International Day of Peace in 2001 by UN resolution 55/282. Since then, a network of institutions, organisations and individuals around the world have celebrated this day with a belief that peace is possible. The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict aims at reaching a global consensus in approach towards peace building and conflict prevention. The International Peace Day celebration held on 21st September is a unique opportunity to make a step forward in reaching this goal. This year too, representatives of 15 regions - members of GPPAC, are organising a number of activities to raise awareness of the importance of peace and conflict prevention. PEOPLE BUILDING PEACE ARTS COMPETITION In 2010, NDC Serbia is inviting schools, teachers, pupils and students to participate in the arts competition People Building Peace initiated on 21st September as a part of the International Peace Day celebration. All interested pupils and students from the Western Balkans region (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) can send photos of their People Building Peace paintings or drawings. Twelve selected paintings/drawings from different parts of the region will be used as illustrations for the 2011 Peace Calendar. Serbian Ministry of Education and Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science officially supported the IPD arts competition. Goals of the arts competition are: Instructions: To promote the idea of the International Peace Day among pupils and students To provide opportunity for pupils and students to participate in regional peace activities To contribute to sustainable peace and reconciliation in the Western Balkans region The competition is initated on the occassion of the International Peace Day and will be open from 20th September to 15th November 2010. Peace Calendar will be published in December 2010. - The competition is open to pupils and students from primary and secondary schools in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina; - Participants of the competition can send their works by e-mail to ljudigrademir@gmail.com in 300 dpi resolution, or by post to the office of Nansen Dialogue Centre Serbia, at the following address: Milentija Popovića 12/3, 11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia; - Apart from sending their paintings/drawings, participants have to sign a letter of consent and include their personal data. For more info, you can visit : http://www.peaceportal.org/web/nansen-dialogue-centre-serbia/home 2
GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS Nansen Dialogue Centres based in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Croatia have been celebrating the International Peace Day since 2008 by promoting non violent conflict resolution, Peace Education and sustainable peace. GPPAC is a truly global civil society network for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The Global network was established in 2003 and operates in 15 regions around the world with a belief that peace is possible and that we are stronger by acting together. Building on these principles, GPPAC member organisations celebrate the International Peace Day with a slogan PEOPLE BUILDING PEACE. The aim of the GPPAC is to achieve fundamental change with regards to understanding of armed conflicts, calling for a shift from reaction to the prevention of violent conflict. Panel discussion People Building Peace organised on 21st September in 2009 by NDC Serbia. Key note speaker: Tinde Kovač Cerović, Serbian State Secretary, Ministry of Education. With this in mind, the Global Partnership advocates for continuous investment in conflict prevention at all society levels, by strenghtening interaction between representatives of institutions, civil society organisations and media. GPPAC members in the Western Balkans - Nansen Dialogue Network - Nansen Dialogue Network is comprised of Nansen Dialogue Centres in the Western Balkans region. Regional Steering Group meeting 2010 GPPAC members from the Western Balkans as initiators of a change in the policies and methodologies of Peace Education. By implementing regional Peace Education activities, the respective Nansen Dialogue Centres have established closer collaboration with representatives of educational institutions both at the country and regional level. With this in mind, Peace Education is one of the most important areas of work of the Nansen Dialogue Network. The mission of the Nansen Network is to contribute to reconciliation and peacebuilding by working on interethnic dialogue with individuals and groups that can influence positive changes in their community. NDN has been a member of GPPAC since 2004. Ethnically divided communities and lack of communication are some of the consequences of Yugoslav disintegration. Unfortunately, ethnic divisions are reflected in the educational system too, with monoethnic schools as the outcomes of deep divisions within communities. Nansen Dialogue Centres create activities based on the needs of local communities. In order to reduce interethnic tensions and strengthen inter-ethnic collaboration, NDCs work with students, teachers, parents and local authorities. A step foward in the work with authorities are the projects of collaboration between local politicians and executives and representatives of Norwegian municipalities. 3
COLABORATION BETWEEN GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS AND INSTITUTIONS NDC Serbia, as the GPPAC regional member, continuously works on projects supporting interethnic collaboration, reconciliation processes and sustainable peace. At regional level, by implementing regional Peace Education projects, NDC Serbia has established collaboration with representatives of local authorities in charge of education, as well as with the representatives of the Ministry of Education from several countries. This collaboration will in future continue to be strengthened by joint effforts made towards integration of Peace Education contents in the curricula. One of positive examples of such collaboration are the conferences on Peace Education Policies, Network Building and Methodologies of Peace Education held in Podgorica and Belgrade in 2009, organised by NDC Serbia and NDC Montenegro. Peace Education Brings Peace to the Society, GPPAC cross-regional exchange of teachers from the Western Balkans and Western CIS, Simferopol, Ukraine, May 2010 By signing the joint Declaration, Ministry representatives have committed themselves to be actively engaged in Peace Education implementation. Mr. Bogoljub Lazarević, Serbian Deputy Minister of Education stated: Education for Peaceful Conflict Resolution should be implemented in our schools as much as possible. The main recommendation from the Podgorica conference was to create partnerships at different levels: at the school level, between the states, at the regional level, between the Ministries of Education and non-governmental organisations working on Peace Education. The most important outcome of these conferences was the Declaration on Joint Cooperation and Cooperation with Civil Society Organisations in the field of Peace Education, signed in December 2009 by the Deputy Ministers of Education from Serbia and from Montenegro. 4
Western Balkans and Western CIS Teachers Experience Exchange: School with Peace Education Brings Peace to Society. As a part of collaboration between the Western CIS and the Western Balkans in the field of Peace Education, two conferences were organised: in Podgorica, Montenegro and in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine. Initiators of this project were Nansen Dialogue Centre Montenegro and Integration and Development Center for Information and Research- IDC from Ukraine. This was the first cross-regional exchange between two GPPAC regions. Cross-regional exchange, Podgorica, 21st 25th April 2010 Members of the Western Balkans delegation were representatives from three countries: Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the delegates were the Deputy Minister of Education of Serbia, senior adviser of the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro, representative of the Bureau for Education Services of Montenegro, teachers-school mediators and NDC coordinators implementing Peace Education projects. During the exchange in Podgorica and in Simferopol, the participants identified the potentials of future collaboration. Cross-regional exchange, Simferopol, Ukraine, 15th -20th May 2010 Serbian Deputy Minister of Education giving presentation, 15th -20th May 2010, Simferopol, Ukraine. 5
REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE CELEBRATIONS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS 2009 Global Photo Campaign Peace is Possible In 2009, GPPAC members - peacebuilding organisations, collected photos symbolizing peace and containing a message Peace is Possible. The photos from all over the world are available at www.flickr.com. SERBIA NDC Serbia organised a panel discussion People Building Peace New Legal Framework for Peace Education. Nansen Dialogue Centre Serbia coordinated GPPAC IPD activities in the Western Balkans. NDCs in Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro organised celebrations in 6 locations. CROATIA On 21st September, NDC Osijek organised three Peace workshops in three towns, Vukovar, Markušica and Beli Manastir, as a part of Cultural and Spiritual Heritage of the Region project. The students wrote peace messages on chocolate bars and distibuted them to their friends and teachers. The topic of the panel was implementation of the new general Law on Educational System and the possibilities which the Law provides for collaboration between the state institutions and CSOs in the field of Peace Education. Key note speaker, Mrs. Tinde Kovač Cerović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education emphasized: It is of great importance that the school is not only a place where children learn, but as well gain social skills. 6
MONTENEGRO NDC Montenegro and Montenegrin Ministry of Education and Science organised a press conference on 21st September, informing about the joint Peace Education activities. NDC MN alumni from Ulcinj organised Alternative Dispute Resolution workshop for primary school teachers on the occassion of the International Peace Day. Press Conference at the Montenegrin Ministry of Education. Speakers: Vesna Vučurović, Deputy Minister, Branka Kankaraš, Independent Advisor and Ivana Gajović, NDC Montenegro Coordinator. 2008 In 2008, NDCs marked IPD in the region with a slogan People Building Peace. NDC Serbia coordinated IPD celebration with NDC Montenegro and NDC Skopje. SERBIA NDC Serbia organised a round table Peace Education for Peaceful Society Collaboration of State Institutions and CSOs. The round table aimed at enhancing dialogue and collaboration between CSOs and state institutions in the field of Peace Education. 7
MACEDONIA NDC Skopje organised Peace Run in a multiethnic municipality of Jegunovce. Participants of the run were Macedonian and Albanian students. Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and the Mayor of Jegunovce participated in the opening of the Peace Run, thus supporting inter-ethnic relations in this municipality. Deputy Prime Minister opening the Peace Run Preparing for the Peace Run MONTENEGRO NDC Montenegro in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science organised Education for Peace panel discussion. All participants emphasized the importance of collaboration between state institutions and CSOs in the field of PE. School principals suggested the ways of PE implementation in the future. NDC SERBIA GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS Milentija Popovica 12/3 11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia Tel: +381 11 2130 899 Fax: +381 11 2130 899 e-mail: nansen@sezampro.rs http://www.mypeaceportal.org/web/nansen -dialogue-centre-serbia NDC MONTENEGRO GPPAC WESTERN BALKANS REGIONAL SECRETARIAT Cetinjski put LAM. 1-2, 3/16; 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro tel/fax: +382 20 290 094 e-mai: igajovic@t-com.me http://www.mypeaceportal.org/web/nansen-dialoguecentre-montenegro 8