The Youth Center CK13, Youth Initiative for Human Rights - Montenegro and Youth Center 'KVART' Prijedor invite you to apply for participation in the Regional Political School about the 90s: “LOVE WILL SAVE US! that will take place from September 15 to 21 in Sremski Karlovci for participants from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. If you are between 18 and 30 years old and live in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Croatia, if you feel the need and have the will to change the world for the better - apply! With this school, we aim to encourage you to participate in building fairer societies and sustainable peace in the region through the establishment and maintenance of new social relationships based on principles of reconciliation, friendship, and love as political principles for building lasting peace.

How much do we know about the crimes committed in our name? Who are our sources of information? How did the collapse of Yugoslav society into nationalism, war, and crimes happen and unfold? Why does this concern us young people today? What legacy do we carry? How and where do we learn about crimes? What do our parents and the state tell us? What do we say among ourselves?

War conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and countless victims of war crimes are not a “dark past” that can be pushed aside and forgotten. On the contrary, denial, forgetting, and ignoring crimes are strategies for their perpetuation. In a social-political and existential sense, crimes persist today, as personal and transgenerational traumas, as a past we refuse to remember with empathy, informedly, and responsibly, as a present we do not understand.

By bringing together young people from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, the aim of the Regional Political School about the 90s: “Love Will Save Us! is to provide young people with credible sources of knowledge and testimonies about crimes and places of suffering in Yugoslavia during the wars of the 90s, about perpetrators, victims, and survivors, about the heavy and deep legacy of these conflicts and crimes that is passed on to present and future generations. Acquiring this knowledge will help young people better understand their present, as well as the origins and causes of what prevents their free self-realization as individuals and in community with other Others.

Through non-formal education programs and discussions with witnesses of the time, school participants will learn about the historical and socio-political contexts and facts about conflict, war crimes, and genocide in the former Yugoslavia. At the same time, participants will become acquainted with the challenges of seeking justice after the most horrific atrocities, learning about the concept and processes of transitional justice, facing the past, and the culture of remembrance.

Finally, participants will meet their peers from the region and thus deeply challenge and expose the prevailing policies of nationalist prejudices, exclusivity, and hatred that continue to keep the entire region in an untransformed past. We believe that by doing this together, we will be able to strengthen our own capacities for doing good and succeed in thinking and creating paths to peace, which is only possible if we accept and do what is the measure of our humanity: promise eternal memory to the victims, justice to survivors, and peace to others and ourselves.

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION The Regional Political School about the 90s: “LOVE WILL SAVE US! will be held in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia from September 15 to 21, 2024. Accommodation in shared rooms at the Ecological Center Radulovački will be provided for all school participants, with full board including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and refreshments during breaks. In line with non-violence policies and a vision of a different world, the food during the school will be vegan. The organizers cover the costs of accommodation, meals, transportation, and necessary work materials. September 15 is the arrival day in Sremski Karlovci, and September 21 is the departure day. Participants can expect an intense, thematically and emotionally sensitive five-day program that requires a high level of motivation and readiness to actively participate. Each day is divided into two work blocks, morning and afternoon, and a thematic evening program. A memorial visit to Vukovar will also be organized within the school. APPLICATION AND SELECTION How to apply? If you are interested in participating in the Regional Political School, we invite you to apply by completing the application form accessible by clicking on the link: Application Form The deadline for applications is August 18, 2024. We will inform you about the outcome of your application by email no later than August 23, 2024. Selection criteria Considering the program and methodology, we are able to select 30 applications. Preference in selection will be given to individuals who show a high level of motivation for acquiring knowledge and peace activism in the reasoning of their application, as well as those who would benefit most from the school. Selection will also be based on criteria of geographic and gender representation. Please fill out the form thoroughly and clearly, as it is our main source in the selection process. Additional logistical information will be provided to you after the selection of applications. CONTACT For additional questions and information, feel free to contact us via email: [email protected]

We look forward to receiving your applications!

The Regional Political School is organized as part of the project “Right to Peace” jointly implemented by the Youth Center CK13 from Novi Sad, Youth Initiative for Human Rights from Montenegro, and Youth Center KVART from Prijedor. The project is supported by the SMART Balkans regional program - Civil Society for a Connected Western Balkans implemented by the Center for Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD), Center for Policy Research and Creation (CRPM), and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (NMFA).