Training youth workers on storytelling techniques to foster narratives of reconciliation, integration and dialogue and address collective trauma among disadvantaged young people in the Western Balkans.
Context
The project responds to the collective and trans-generational trauma faced by the Western Balkan population and aims at supporting their reconciliation process in particular among the youngest generations. As Western Balkan countries are still recovering from a legacy of war crimes, human rights violations and ethnic divisions and as the war in Ukraine renews past trauma, young people across the region are still living in a general state of distrust, worsened by pervasive nationalistic narratives. EU-CARES will foster their active participation into the path for reconciliation, encouraging constructive dialogue, critical thinking and the creation of new narratives.
Objectives
- Empower youth workers and increase their competences to foster youth participation and engagement, intercultural understanding and solidarity and contribute to the reconciliation process in the Western Balkans through storytelling;
- Engage young people from different regions in meaningful dialogue in order to increase mutual understanding and heal collective trauma;
- Encourage new synergies between youth organizations and relevant policymakers to share expertise and agree on common steps towards reconciliation and collective trauma healing processes.
Activities
- Interviews, roundtables and think tanks with young people, youth workers, representatives of local authorities, educational institutions and other stakeholders to collect and explore best practices and existing narratives on conflict in the Western Balkans;
- An International Training Course for youth workers on storytelling techniques for trauma healing, reconciliation and resilient community building;
- Storytelling workshops conducted by youth workers and art practitioners and training young people in each partner country on storytelling techniques specifically aimed at addressing conflict, promoting diversity and social inclusion and strengthening their peace-building skills;
- Final roundtables and a storytelling exhibition, where participants to the workshops will present their final productions on reconciliation through storytelling.
Resources
- A Virtual Handbook with existing narratives and best practices on conflict, reconciliation and trauma healing;
- An E-toolkit with an Operational Curriculum on a selection of storytelling tools and activities with practical resources, different techniques (narrative podcasting, photography, folk tales, theatre, digital storytelling) for trauma healing and conflict transformation, a list of keywords definitions.
- We are all stories catalogue: a digital resource with narrative podcasts, tales, a photographic exhibition and an animated video about Western Balkans, trauma, reconciliation, and collective healing.
- Newsletter.
Impact
- 40 youth workers acquire and enhance their competences on storytelling for collective trauma healing and reconciliation.
- 176 young people, youth workers, representatives of local authorities, educational institutions and other stakeholders across the seven partner countries engage in fruitful exchanges to collect and explore existing narratives and best practices on post-conflict reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
- 160 young people increase their knowledge and skills on storytelling for collective trauma healing, and produce their own pieces on reconciliation.
- 1500 people will increase their awareness on human rights, reconciliation and collective trauma in the Western Balkans.
Partners
- Out of the Box International (Belgium, coordinator)
- Sarajevo Susret Kultura (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- CESIE (Italy)
- IRSH (Albania)
- IDEA LAB (Poland)
- NVO Prima (Montenegro)
- Centar za Socijalne Inovacije Centrifuga (Serbia)
- Perpetuum Mobile (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
