CDRSEE :: Center for Democracy and Reconcilliation in Southeast Europe

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2-3 July 2008: CDRSEE at the final conference for the “European Young Journalist Award”. The Center’s executive director, Nenad Sebek, was invited to speak at the closing conference for the European Young Journalist Award, which took place in Ljubliana on 2-3 July and was organised jointly by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement and the European Youth Press Association. The conference allowed for a productive debate between 400 young journalists on topics such as mobility in the ‘enlarged Europe’, identity issues, or cultural interaction, with representatives from media and politics as well as researchers and specialists on EU-related topics. Following the conference, Mr. Jan Truszczyński, Deputy Director-General of DG Enlargement presented all national winners with an award.

13 July 2008 - CDRSEE rocks EXIT! What do you take with you if you are performing at one of Europe’s most happening, funky, energetic and diverse music festivals? A guitar…? Groupies and roadies…?….a list of the most ridiculous backstage demands you can think up? ….well, if you are the CDRSEE, you take sticky syrupy pastries! Click here for the full story and more photographs.

July 2008 - Joint History Project Teacher Training successfully completed in Albania. After kicking off with the training of trainers’ workshop in Tirana in December 2007, 5 local teacher training workshops have successfully taken place in 5 different locations across Albania, between January and July 2008. To download the Albanian language edition of the workbooks free, please click here.

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JHP Athens Conference

'WE' AND 'OTHERS' - what we can read in the history textbooks in the countries of the former Yugoslavia region
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT WAR

Author Milivoj Djilas

All the nations of the former Yugoslavia want to present their Balkan history as a process of fighting for national independence in which the other nations was interfering. Slovenian and Croatian history textbooks present Yugoslavia as a 'prison of nations' which served to Serbian hegemony and economic exploitation. Serbian history textbooks accuses Yugoslavia for encouraging Croatian separatism which were stopping positive progress of the country, as well as Macedonians blame the former Yugoslavia for their denationalization.

'CLIO IN THE BALKANS'

Non -governmenatal organization The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe established in Thessaloniki, recently published the book 'Clio in the Balkans' which presents the results of the three-years research on the quality of history teaching in the schools of the region and comparative analysis of the history textbooks.

The research has shown that history taught in the Balkan schools has been mostly ethnocentric and conflictual. That was the main motive for initiating The International Conference called: 'The Southeast European Joint History Project' that took place in Athens in April.

The whole project where participated some of the most distinguished historians of the region was organized by The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe.

The seven workshops have been organized in order to discuss the possible changes in approaching to history teaching.

Taking into account the fact that the issues addressed at The Conference were non-political but mostly cultural, it had been huge condemnation that some Ministries of education, like Croatian, had failed to send their representatives to The Conference.

EXTIRPATION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AND 'HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS'

The foundation of national identity and historical awereness in the most history textbooks in the countries of the former Yugoslavia region are established through manipulation with historical facts.

Interpretations of historical facts are based mostly on specific expression of desired images about the 'others'. For example, the reasons for disintegration of former Yugoslavia Serbian and Montenegrin textbooks see in separatism of Slovenia and Croatia which was helped by The International Community, and at the same time Slovenia and Croatia blame Serbian hegemony and chauvinism.

The common characteristics in approaching history in the countries of the region are nations which based their model on romanticist assumptions stemming from the image about glorious national past, tradition, national culture and the 'others' who were always obstruction in realization of national aspirations.

If judging in accordance with history textbooks, there is not a question if it is going to be a next war, but when it is going to happen.

'SLOBODNA DALMACIJA'