Engagement for Friendship: Changing Political Culture in the Balkans

Venues: Boatel Compass River City, Bulevar Nikole Tesle bb, Belgrade
Period: June 30 – July 7, 2019


The Jean Monnet Network Consortium led by the New York University of Tirana, together with the Institute of East Central and Balkan Europe (IECOB), theUniversity of Dubrovnik, the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology and the European Movement of Serbia is pleased to announce an exciting and timely Summer School program, under the title “Engagement for Friendship: Changing Political Culture in the Balkans”.

The Summer School is part of the Jean Monnet project Democratization and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans.

Admittedly, politics of Balkan countries from 19th century Romantic-nationalist period onwards were immersed into the Western European model of politics guided by nationalism and hostility. This summer school aims at investigating the possibility of a different kind of politics in the Balkans, based on – or reconfigured by – the concept of friendship. As we believe, even though the consequences of recent war and hostilities are still felt throughout  the region, Balkan peoples are profoundly bound together by their joint folkloristic and oral traditions and heritage, distinct form of extended family lifestyle, shared past, shifting ethnic and religious identities, joint life in multi-ethnic and multiconfessional societies etc.

This summer school, thus, focuses on the role of friendships in creating ethnic reconciliation in the region. The aim is to challenge currently entrenched hostile perceptions by unearthing positive stories about examples of friendship and cooperation, excluded from public discourse. We will aim to show that beyond the hostilities between the Balkan nations, there resides a plethora of common undertakings and experiences which can lead to friendlier relations between the nations. Hence, throughout the summer school, we purport to offer a number of examples of friendship, cooperation, alternative relations, realized or unfulfilled political projects, that characterizes the Balkan region and speaks alternative stories to the ones too often nourished in the media, education and scholarly discourse, in the West and within the Balkan itself alike. Our aim is to establish a cooperative network of younger researchers, civil society activists and students, and empower them to combat present hostility on a long term basis, further employing research results and activities.

The School is organized during the second year of the project and will last seven days. It will take place in Belgrade, Serbia.

Youth, primarily college students and CSO activists, interested in reconciliation and promoting friendship. Applicants from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy and Serbia are particularly encouraged to apply. The maximum number of accepted participants to the Summer School is 25.

The participation fee for Summer School is €30,00 (€15.00 only for participants from Belgrade). It will be applied to selected applicants and should be paid by 27th June 2019 at the following EMinS’ IBAN bank account: RS35275000022003793255, SWIFT/BIC code: SOGYRSBG

Participants from Serbia will pay participation fee, under NBS average exchange rate on the date of payment, to account number no. 170-230012003-83 at UniCredit Bank.

There is no reimbursement in case of withdrawing from the program.

Selected applicants will receive a travel reimbursement up to €200,00 at the end of the program. Accommodation in double rooms and meals are also provided by the organization, as well as the river cruise. Please note that in order to be eligible for travel reimbursement and free accommodation at the hotel, participants have to reside at least 50 km away from the School venue. Proof of distance will be the residence address reported in the ID or in other official documents to be included to the application.

The applicants are required to send application form (attached), filled in and signed, including their CV.
Also, it is recommended to sends us up to three original photos on a general topic of friendship and reconciliation in the region, taken by themselves. Each photo should be in the resolution of 1800x1200 and must have at least 300 dpi (dots per image or ppi pixel per image). Also, each photo should be accompanied with a short (50 to 150 words) description that should contain its title and brief explanation of its meaning / author’s intention or the context that the photo was taken off.

Successful applicants will have all their photos publicized on an exhibition to be held in all partner countries by the end of 2020.

Please send your applications to nina.lopandic@emins.org by 4 th June 2019 at midnight.
All applicants will be informed via email about the results of the selection by 14th June 2019.

Secretariat:
EMinS – European Movement in Serbia (web: http://www.emins.org)

Location:
Boatel Compass River City, Bulevar Nikole Tesle bb, Belgrade