Monuments alone cannot deliver any message from the past, but the ubiquitous memorials from the time of Yugoslavia have the potential to illuminate the events of the past independent of the conflicting memories of nationalistic narratives. The project Youth Memories aims to initiate a process of exchanging personal memories and opinions on recent history among youth from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
Participants of the project will research, photograph, map or write about various memorials, eventually working together to build a new monument with a message of peace, tolerance and unity. This web platform was established in order to provide the youth the capability to share stories and media, map monuments, and interact with each other. The discussion facilitated by the project is intended to offer education about recent history through varying perspectives and to combat the distrust and discrimination that arise from the misunderstanding of those perspectives. Through the project’s open-minded discussions, monuments will provide a clear-eyed picture of the culture that created them.
REVIVE
Monuments alone cannot deliver any message from the past, but the ubiquitous memorials from the time of Yugoslavia have the potential to illuminate the events of the past independent of the conflicting memories of nationalistic narratives. The project Youth Memories aims to initiate a process of exchanging personal memories and opinions on recent history among youth from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
PERCEPTION
The project will deal with the youth’s perception of monuments and localities all across Balkans in order to establish an intergenerational connection between collective memories of various social groups.
MEMORIES
Taking photos about monuments and historical localities and sharing them on a web platform, developed as a part of the project, enable a broader audience to learn about these monuments, comment on them and eventually contribute in creating a new image of the past.
Youth Memories YouTube Channel
Video of Youth Memories Project Meeting Belgrade 2015
