Recommendations Submitted to the City on Memory Culture and Memorialization

Recommendations Submitted to the City on Memory Culture and Memorialization

We have submitted proposals to the City of Zagreb for a new, inclusive, and participatory approach to memory culture, along with a concrete memorialization proposal dedicated to Lea Deutsch, Aleksandra Zec, and Madina Hussiny.

As part of the project “ZA(govaranje) sjećanja", supported by the City of Zagreb and implemented in cooperation with the Croatian Educational and Development Network for the Evolution of Communication (HERMES) and the Centre for Peace Studies (CMS), we developed “Recommendations for Inclusive and Participatory Memorialization of Victims of War and Institutional Violence in the City of Zagreb.” The document was developed on the basis of international standards in the field of memorialization and transitional justice, with the aim of enabling Zagreb to adopt a contemporary memory policy that goes beyond narrow ethno-national narratives, encompasses different victims of war and institutional violence, and actively involves citizens, especially children and young people.

The recommendations and the memorialization proposal were developed in cooperation with young people from Zagreb, who spent months conducting research, collecting materials on existing memorialization practices, and jointly designing and defining an inclusive and participatory approach to memory culture and the memorialization of Lea Deutsch, Aleksandra Zec, and Madina Hussiny.

In the recommendations, we propose concrete measures for city institutions: the adoption of a clear city policy on remembering victims of war and institutional violence; linking memorialization with education, work with children and young people, and human rights policies; the development of participatory models of remembrance in public spaces; and systematic cooperation with civil society organizations, minority communities, and other vulnerable groups.

In the Annex to the document, we also present a concrete memorialization proposal – the Three Girls Festival, a three-day public programme for children and young people inspired by the stories of Lea Deutsch, Aleksandra Zec, and Madina Hussiny. The festival is conceived as an inclusive, educational, and participatory format that connects memory culture with non-formal education and the activation of public space through films, performances, workshops, and play.

We expect the city authorities to:

• initiate a process of developing a city memory policy for victims of war and institutional violence, in dialogue with civil society organizations and the expert community;
• take on a leading role in organizing and supporting the Three Girls Festival, in partnership with civil society organizations and other institutions;
• create opportunities for the involvement of children, young people, and local communities in shaping memorial practices in Zagreb.

The way a city remembers victims of war and institutional violence directly affects the level of trust in institutions and the values passed on to future generations. We believe that Zagreb has an opportunity to become a leader in developing an inclusive and participatory memory policy that recognizes all victims and contributes to building a more solidaristic society.

The full document is available here.

*This project is implemented with the financial support of the City of Zagreb.