Zagreb, 23.8.2021.
On Wednesday, August 18th, 2021, the program assistant for justice and reconciliation at the Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Croatia, Ana Gvozdić, participated in the panel “(Re)creating Memories”, held as part of the program “In Youth Eyes” within the “Dealing with the past” program of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which took place between August 13th and August 20th this year.
The panel was attended by 25 young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania who participated in the “In Youth Eyes” program. The program is organized by the Regional Youth Cooperation Office, ForumZFD, and USAID peace project “Pro-budućnost”. During the six-day-long program, young people shared their perspectives, watched films from the “Dealing with the Past” program, and, alongside activists, researchers, and film professionals, discussed history and its role in reconciliation and the construction of a better future.
The panelists for (Re)creating Memory were also Najwa Najjar, director of “Between Heaven and Earth”, which was screened at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and dr. sc. Senadin Musabegović, essayist, author, and professor of history of arts at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo. The talk was moderated by Lejla Gačanica, a legal advisor and independent researcher.
Reflecting on the contexts of Israel and Palestine, as well as the former Yugoslav countries, we talked about suppressed memories and the role of state politics in developing dominant narratives related to the past and their influence on the development of national identities. Furthermore, we highlighted the role of art in emphasizing the human experiences of conflict, while our assistant Ana pointed out the work of civil society organizations in the field of nonformal youth education and advocacy work directed at local and state authorities.
We thank the panelists and the moderator for the interesting conversation, the organizers for the invitation to participate in this important event, and the young people for their active participation.