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Balkan youth finding unity in diversity

13 Jul 2007 11:41:50 GMT
Source: World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe office (MEERO)

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Summer camp for Balkan youth: It is vital to continue planting seeds of friendship in the hearts of young people across the Balkans as we look to build a process of reconciliation
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org

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Some 45 young people aged 13-18 came together in Montenegro for the World Vision Balkans peacebuilding summer camp last month, specifically created to promote peace and friendship among youth living in post conflict Balkan societies.

Some of the participants, all from Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, live in segregated towns, neighbourhoods and attend segregated schools. Their environment is one of distrust and xenophobia towards those different to their own ethnic or religious group.

"Summer camps promoting the acceptance of differences such as this one are an effective tool to help young people overcome prejudices and stereotypes they encounter in their daily lives. By combining the efforts of our offices in the region and working with partners like WV Switzerland and the Eagle Down Foundation (EDF), we expand our reach and maximize our impact. It is vital to continue planting seeds of friendship in the hearts of young people across the Balkans as we look to build a process of reconciliation," explained Rick Spruyt, World Vision Kosovo Civil Society Program Manager.

During the 1990's, armed conflict, instability and ethnic violence throughout the Balkans left people deeply divided along ethnic lines. Today memories of conflict and compounded ethnic prejudice serve as a barrier to peace in the region and conflict still exists, although in a dormant state. During the camp youth were challenged to confront false perceptions and to see each other for what they really were: young people sharing the same interests and similar life experiences.

"What made this camp so meaningful was that stereotypes were broken. Kids came here with a perception of the other groups that they soon discovered were false. They began enjoying new friendships and found that there were in fact more similarities than differences between them," explained Rita Llulla, Camp Coordinator and Kids for Peace Coordinator, WV Kosovo:

Through a 'peer to peer' training focus the youth themselves took the lead in running the sessions with close guidance from World Vision staff. This allowed them to combine their personal experiences with the teachings of the camp, drawing on their stories and experiences; stories of problems they face at home and conflicts they themselves had witnessed. To their surprise they discovered that despite ethnic and religious differences they had many things in common, not only in terms of experiences of hardship and consequences of war, but also similar interests and hobbies. The similarities of their experiences drew them together as they had familiar stories to tell and could identify with one another.

"The summer camp really exceeded my expectations. I had alot of fun and most importantly I learned that even though we're different we have many things in common with each other. No matter what our ethnicity was, here we were like one group making new friends and enjoying ourselves', said Milica Milosavlevic, a 17 year old Serbian participant.

The camp was organised by WV Kosovo in partnership with WV MFIs AgroInvest Serbia, AgroInvest Montenegro and WV Albania. It was funded by the Eagle Down Foundation, which seeks to support children in conflict zones around the globe. This was the third such camp organized by World Vision, the first one taking place in the summer of 2004, also funded by Eagle Down.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Fri Jul 13 12:23:57 2007