Zagreb, January 26, 2023
On Saturday, January 13, 2023, activists of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights from Croatia and Serbia jointly participated in the event "We choose peace" in Vukovar, organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the European House Vukovar on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of the process of peaceful reintegration of the Croatian Danube region.
Welcoming words were delivered by Adis Ahmetović, a member of the German parliament and rapporteur of the parliamentary group for the Western Balkans, who emphasized that it is important to celebrate peace.
The audience was greeted by Dr. Sonja Schimberk, director of the office for Croatia and Slovenia of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, who emphasized that peaceful reintegration should receive the same attention as military victories. Dr. Schimberk also called for the development of educational materials about peaceful reintegration.
Finally, the director of the European House Vukovar, Dijana Antunović Lazić stated that peace is not just the absence of war, but peace is an unprecedented value.
After the welcoming remarks, the film "I choose Vukovar" produced by HRT was shown, and after the screening, the audience had the opportunity to hear some of the protagonists of the film, Biljana Gaća, an activist from Vukovar, and Duško Simić, as well as HRT journalist Hana Gelb and Nikica Torbica, historian and head of the Social Studio of the association DKolectiv. Journalist Barbara Matejčić moderated the conversation about the experience of filming the film, the importance of peaceful reintegration, and the present and future of life in Vukovar.
Inspired by participation in this event, our activists shared the following impressions:
It was very refreshing to hear the stories of the people who live in Vukovar, and later to talk with them.
It is important for us to learn about peaceful reintegration and remember this process, which receives much less attention than military operations.
Peaceful reintegration, although formally completed, is a process in which we must continuously invest.
We thank the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the European Home Vukovar for the invitation.
Project MLAD! is implemented with the financing of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth.