Zagreb, January 30, 2023
At the invitation of the Austrian National Defence Academy and the Partnership for Peace Consortium, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights participated in the meeting of the "Regional Stability in South East Europe" study group.
Since 1999, the Study Group Regional Stability in South East Europe has been assessing the post-war development in Western Balkan countries and its implications for the region and beyond. The main focus of the Study Group is to examine major conflict areas and propose possible solutions to local authorities and international actors alike.
In order to strengthen the ability to resolve conflicts and support peace, the 43rd workshop of the study group was held in Sarajevo from September 22 to 25 on the topic "Democratic Transition and Multi-Ethnicity - Opportunities and Challenges for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Southeast European Neighbors".
The workshop discussed specific experiences and approaches of Southeast European post-war societies in dealing with the challenges as multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries.
The fifth panel "South East Europe - From a Conflict Region to a Role Model of Ethnic and Religious Coexistence and Cooperation" dealt with positive regional examples from the inter-ethnic and inter-religious field and recognized constructive initiatives that should be especially supported in the regional context.
As part of that panel, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights presented its project "Shared Narratives - Past Continues", which enabled more than 100 young people from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo to collaborate on creating a new view of the past by working on the publication "Shared Narratives", which is based on regional study visits and discussions with witnesses with the support of prominent regional and world experts on issues of history, dialogue, and justice.
The work of the study group "Regional Stability in South East Europe" resulted in recommendations, the executive summary of which highlighted the instruction to the European Union and the United States of America to support the Youth Initiative for Human Rights project on Shared Narratives in the Western Balkans. In the text of the recommendations, it is elaborated that donor communities should significantly finance and promote the "Shared Narratives" project of the Regional Network of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights as a flagship civil society project.
The Youth Initiative for Human Rights continues to work on its mission: to prevent the recurrence of conflicts and to build a society based on respect for human rights, by enabling young people to become tolerant citizens who think critically about the past and who actively hold institutions accountable through effective advocacy and activism.