The Youth Center CK13, Youth Initiative for Human Rights - Montenegro, and Center for Youth “KVART” Prijedor invite you to apply to participate in the Regional Political School about the nineties: “LOVE WILL SAVE US! which 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! Through this school, we aim to encourage you to participate in building fairer societies and sustainable peace in the region by establishing and maintaining new social relationships based on reconciliation, friendship, and love as political principles for building lasting peace. The school's name “Love will save us! – an anti-war graffiti from Zagreb – is our dedication to the loving policies of the 90s, policies that we continue.

How much do we know about the crimes committed in our name? Who are and what 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 to each other? War conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and countless victims of war crimes are not a “dark past” that can be suppressed and forgotten. On the contrary, denying, forgetting, and ignoring crimes is a strategy for their perpetuation. In a socio-political and existential sense, crimes persist today as personal and transgenerational trauma, as a past that we refuse to remember it empathetically, informed, and responsibly, as a present that we do not understand. By bringing together young people from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, the goal of the Regional Political School about the nineties: “Love will save us! is to offer young people credible sources of knowledge and credible testimonies about the crimes and sites of suffering in Yugoslavia during the wars of the 90s, about the perpetrators, the victims, and survivors, about the difficult 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 origin 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 become familiar with the historical and socio-political context and facts about the conflict, war crimes, and genocide in former Yugoslavia. Participants will also learn about the challenges of seeking justice after the worst 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 in doing so question and expose the prevailing policies of nationalist prejudices, exclusivity, and hatred that still hold the entire region in an untransformed past. We believe that in this way, together, we will succeed in empowering our own capacities to do good and in thinking and creating paths to peace, which is only possible if we accept and do what is the measure of our humanity: promising eternal memory to the victims, promising justice to the survivors, promising peace to others and ourselves.

LOGISTICAL INFORMATION The Regional Political School about the nineties: “Love will save us! will take place in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia from September 15 to 21, 2024. All participants will be accommodated in multi-bed rooms at the Ecological Center Radulovački, on a full board basis, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and refreshments during breaks. In line with non-violence policies and the vision of a different world, the school will provide vegan meals. The organizers of the school will cover the costs of accommodation, meals, travel, and necessary working materials. September 15 is the arrival day in Sremski Karlovci, and September 21 is the departure day. During the school, you can expect an intensive, thematic, and emotionally sensitive five-day program that requires a high level of motivation and readiness to actively participate. Each day is divided into two working blocks, morning and afternoon, and a themed evening program. A memorial visit to Vukovar will also be organized as part of 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 filling out the application form accessible by clicking the link: here The deadline for applications is August 18, 2024. You will be informed of the outcome of your application via email no later than August 23, 2024. Selection criteria Given the program and methodology of the school, we are able to select 30 applications. Preference in selection will be given to individuals who demonstrate a high level of motivation for acquiring knowledge and peace activism in their application justification, as well as those who would benefit most from the school. When selecting, we will also consider geographical and gender representation criteria. Please fill out the form thoroughly and clearly because it is our main source in the selection process. Additional logistical information will be forwarded 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 your applications with joy!

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 Center for Youth KVART from Prijedor. The project is supported by the regional program SMART Balkans - Civil Society for a Connected Western Balkans implemented by the Center for Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD), Center for Policy Research (CRPM), and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway (NMFA).