CDRSEE :: Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe

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16-18 December, 2011 – History Education Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. The Joint History Project's History Education Committee finalised its push to expand this highly successful history book series to cover more recent times. During a two-day meeting in Belgrade, the editors and contributors discussed the publication within a larger circle of participants and received input from a renowned international expert in the field of Southeast European History. The fruitful meeting was the last in a series of three meetings made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

2 – 4 December, Dynamic Teaching Tools Concept Meeting in Thessaloniki – Some of the most accomplished educators and researchers from the region and from the United States gathered in Thessaloniki to create the framework for a new dynamic teaching methodology tool. This talented, multi-faceted group will ultimately publish a manual that will provide teachers with the latest research on teaching methods and ideas on how these methods can be used in their classrooms. While this project builds upon CDRSEE's highly successful Joint History Project, the information and ideas within will not be limited to history classes, but rather will be focused on the art of teaching in a rapidly changing society. The manual will be translated into six different languages. This was the first meeting, with the next scheduled for spring 2012 in Tirana. The project is funded by the European Union, under the IPA Programme.

1 December, 2011 – CDRSEE and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) will kick off a new project in December, organising a series of lively debates about controversial regional issues and broadcasting these debates via major local TV stations throughout the region. The idea of “Similarities Between Differences” is to foster an exchange of ideas and a real debate about the issues that are plaguing these countries, impeding EU accession and reconciliation. This is not your everyday talk show. This series will bring together untainted, well-respected and unbiased individuals from a wide field of social sciences, including anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, applied ethics and many others. The topics will not be easy or comfortable, but the wider debates that spring from this series can lead to real solutions and a mutual understanding. More information on the EFB is available at www.balkanfund.org.

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Projects - ADRA Denmark Kosovo Operations and CDRSEE

Regional Conference on History Teaching in Southeast Europe

6-9 December, 2003
Grand Hotel, Pristina, Kosovo

From the 6 th to the 9 th of December 2003 ADRA Denmark Kosovo Operations and the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe organised a Regional Conference on History Teaching in Southeast Europe in Pristina.

The purpose of the Conference was threefold:

I. To Present the results research conducted by ADRA on the following:

To identify critical gaps in education reform, both infrastructure (educator support) and curriculum (subject content).
To reveal nationalist tendencies inherent in the education system from teacher training to subject content, as well as experience of ethnic conflict.
To discern voices, perceptions on need, power, and capacity for change at school and community levels.
To reveal misconceptions transmitted through ignorance of local perceptions of the “other”.
To reveal misconceptions transmitted through ignorance of Western European perceptions of Southeast Europe.

II. The CDRSEE introduced historians, professionals, teachers, pedagogues, and officials from Kosovo to the regional project: the Southeast European Joint History Project, in the hope of bringing Kosovar education experts into the CDRSEE regional network of scholars.

III. As part of its exit strategy from Kosovo, ADRA Denmark seeks to foster a relationship between regional efforts for reform of history teaching and internal efforts within Kosovo.

Participants in the Conference

Discussions during the coffee break

Visit to a Kula

Participants after the plenary session of the conference

The participants were the following:

ADRA Denmark:

Bjorn Johansen, Program Manager
Birgit Philipson, Secondary General
Antigona Dajakaj, Education Manager
Holly Hughson, Education Coordinator

CDRSEE:

Sheila Cannon, Project Manager
Costas Carras, Rapporteur to the Board of Directors of CDRSEE
Maria Mylona, Project Coordinator

Georg Eckert Institute:

Augusta Dimou

EUROCLIO:

Joke van der Leeuw-Roord, Executive Director of EUROCLIO

Discovery Center for Interactive Learning:

Karmit Zysman, Director

OSCE BiH:

Falk Pingel

Kosovo Educator Development Program:

David Lynn, Project Director
Milica Kostadinovic, KEDP Project Officer
Robert Mizzi

University of California at Berkeley:

Sarah W. Freedman, Professor
Naomi Levy, Research Assistant

University of Ulster:

Alan McCully, School of Education

Albania:

Fatmiroshe Xhemali, History Teacher
Adrian Papajani

Bulgaria:

Todor Kavrakov, History Teacher

Croatia:

Margita Madunic, History Teacher
Kresimir Alajbeg, History Teacher

Greece:

Christina Koulouri, Assist. Prof., University of the Peloponesus

FYR of Macedonia:

Alim Purelku, History Teacher

Kosovo:

Arber Salihu, Coordinator for History Curriculum, MEST
Fehmi Rexhep, Political Advisor to the Minister of Education
Shkelzen Racaj, Institute of Albanology, University of Pristina
Frasher Demaj, Institute of History
Ragip Zekolli, Head of General Division, MEST
Xhafer Ahmeti, Kosova Education CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY
Mustafe Shahini, Kosovo Teacher
Ekrem Kadriu, History Professor-Vushtri
Nexhmi Caniu, History Professor-Podujeve
Sedat Kryezin, History Professor-Suhareke
Ilir Hoxha, Director, Kosova Action Network

Serbia and Montenegro:

Natasa Bogovic, Journalist
Mirko Popovic, History Student
Vladimir Petrovic, Belgrade Open School

Slovenia:

Bozo Repe, Ass. Prof. University of Ljubljana

PROGRAMME

6 December

Arrival and Registration

18:00 Welcome Reception

19:00 Session I - Plenary
Presentation, “Justice, Accountability, and Social Reconstruction in Rwanda and Former Yugoslavia”
Professor Sarah W. Freedman and Naomi Levy
Human Rights Center, University of California at Berkeley

20:30 Dinner

7 December

Breakfast

09:00 Session II - Plenary
The Chance for History in Kosovo
Holly Hughson, Education Coordinator, ADRA Denmark, Kosovo Operations

10:00 Coffee

10:30 Session III – Small Groups
Analysis of ADRA Research
Discussion of Draft Policy Recommendations

13:00 Lunch

14:30 Session IV – Plenary
Presentation on history textbooks revision in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dr Falk Pingel, Georg-Eckert Institute, Braunschweig,
Director of the Educational Department, OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

15:30 Coffee

16:00 Session V - Plenary
Euroclio: Working with history teachers in Southeast Europe
Joke van der Leeuw-Roord, Executive Director
Euroclio

17:00 Session VIII – Plenary
Presentation of the Joint History Project by Center for Democracy and Reconciliation for Southeast Europe (CDRSEE)
• Introduction to the Joint History Project for South East Europe
Mr. Costa Caras, CDRSEE Board Member responsible for Joint History Project
• Clio in the Balkans, Textbook research results
Associate Professor Christina Koulouri, Democritus University of Thrace, Athens

19:30 Dinner

8 December

Breakfast

09:00 Session VII - Plenary
Perspectives from Kosovo
Mr. Dukagjin Gorani, Director Human Rights Centre, University of Pristina
Ms. Sakibe Jashari, Local Community Officer, Ferizaj/Urosevac
History Curriculum Development in Ministry of Education, Kosovo
Ragip Zekolli, Head of General Education Division

10:30 Coffee

11:00 Session VII – Plenary
Comments from the European Office
Michaela Friberg-Storey
Council of Europe
Karin Volkner

13:00 Lunch

14:30 Session VIII – Plenary
Presentation on history teaching in a society emerging from conflict – the case of Northern Ireland
Mr. Alan McCully
School of Education, University of Ulster

16:00 Session III – Small Groups
Report from small groups

19:30 Dinner

9 December

09:00 Visit to Gracanica Monastery

13:00 Lunch and Departure