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Opening of the 5th Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy

The 5th Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy was opened today, July 23rd at the Franciscan Student Dormitory in Sarajevo.

Participants were greeted by the organizers of the Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy and instructors of this year's courses: Tonči Kuzmanić, instructor of "Politics, Power and Inequalities", Svjetlana Nedimović, instructor of "Role of Historical Truth in Conflict Transformation", and Jayne Docherty, instructor of "Strategic Peacebuilding".

One of the most interesting questions which will be discussed on the course "Politics, Power and Inequalities" is if violence is really the worst thing that can happen to us. _mg_2444_resize

The goal of the course "Role of Historical Truth in Conflict Transformation" is to "open the discussion about the ethical and political status of truth and to start a debate about the mechanisms of defining and disseminating historical truth"._mg_2449_resize

The course "Strategic Peacebuilding", held in English language, is going to deal with issues and dilemmas which occur in the process of peacebuilding in today's violent conflicts.

This year's courses will be attended by 55 participants from the former-Yugoslav region and beyond. The previous four Academy's have been attended by more than 200 participants.

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We would like to thank Mennonite Central Committee and the Balkan Trust for Democracy for financially supporting the Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy and activities of the Peace Academy Foundation.

Pictures: Branimir Prijak

Opening of the 5th Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy

The 5th Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy (PYPA) will be opened on Monday, 23rd July 2012 at 9:30am in the Franciscan Student Dormitory. Organizers of the PYPA, Peace Academy Foundation's staff will be present at the opening as well as this year's course instructors: Tonči Kuzmanić, course instructors of "Politics, Power and (In)Equalities; Svjetlana Nedimović, course instructor of "Role of Historical Truth in the Conflict Transformation"; and Jayne Docherty, course instructor of "Strategic Peacebuilding".

At the same plac, but on Thursday 26th July 2012, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm, a joint lecture and discussion open for broader public will be held on the topic "Socially Engaged Art and Peacebuilding". Guest speakers at the lecture and discussion are: Đorđe Balmazović, artist from Belgrade, Adela Jušić, artist from Sarajevo, and Husein Oručević, artist from Mostar. The moderator of the discussion is Samra Dizdarević.

We invite you to be present at both of the abovementioned two events.

PR/PAF

Dear friends, 

The application procedure for this year's 5th Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy has been closed on June 1st. We have received more then 170 applications. Our selection team is currently in the process of choosing this year's PYPA participants. All those who have applied will be noticed about the selection procedure on June 11th. 

We thank you for your interest in this year's Post-Yugoslav Peace Academy. 

PROMOTION IN BANJA LUKA

Strategic Peacebuilding

"There where efforts for peacebuilding are coordinated, communicated and agreed upon, and where cooperation exists - there is peace."

Author: Maja Isović
Taken from Buka promocija_2

The "The Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding – A Vision and Framework for Peace with Justice," written by Lisa Schirch, was promoted last weekend in Banja Luka in the cafe Cafe&Chillout within the National and University Library RS.  The event was organized by the Peace Academy Foundation (PAF) from Sarajevo and the Center for Informative Decontamination of Youth from Banja Luka. 

Amer Tikveša, Executive Director of PAF, Randall Puljek-Shank, a member of the PAF Board of Directors, and Aleksander Trifunović, Head Editor of Buka, talked about the publication about about the idea of peace, and agreed that the subject is very hard to define in the context of strategic peacebuilding.

Essays

Videos

Ubleha for idiots

  • Poselami amidžu

    Give my regards to your uncle. Originally: Poselami amidžu. Very colloquial greeting, intentionally formulated from two Turkish words, to emphasize the familiarity of the speakers and their strong connection notwithstanding their jobs and the public. In purely semantical terms, a phrase Pozdravi strica (which would translate the same into English) might be used, but it would not have the same conspiratorial weight. By using colloquial discourse, the speakers distance themselves pointedly from the language of ubleha and thereby quite conciously confirm the essence of ubleha as an autoreferential non-identity. It is also worth mentioning whether an „amidža“ exists in the family in a sense of one's father's brother is irrelevant and that actually, in most cases, he does not exist at all; however, the greeting performs its function which a greeting Pozdravi strica could not perform at all and would perplex the speaker.

from Ubleha for Idiots – An Absolutely non useful Guide for Civil Society Building and Project management for Locals and Internationals in BiH and Beyond by Nebojša Šavija-Valha and Ranko Milanovic-Blank, ALBUM No. 20, 2004, Sarajevo, translated by Marina Vasilj.