SUMMER 2014

In this issue: ‣ London 2014 Global Summit to

End Sexual Violence in Conflict ‣ Disaster Relief Fund in Bosnia

and Herzegovina ‣ Balkandiskurs: Media Literacy

and Resisting Manipulation ‣ "My Body: A War Zone" Photo

Exhibition ‣ Bones of the Balkans

!!!About PCRC !PCRC Works with WARM on First World WARM Festival, June 28 - July 3 in Sarajevo !Angelina Jolie Hosts London 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict !PCRC Hosts Genocide Prevention Workshop !PCRC Assists in Disaster Relief Fund for Victims of Floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina !Blogging for the Truth: PCRC's New Project Balkandiskurs Educates Youth in Media Literacy and Resisting Manipulation !Youth Blogging Workshop !Breaking the Silence and Stigma: PCRC's Contribution to London 2014 !PCRC Completes Episodes 3 and 4 of its Ordinary Heroes Documentary Series !"My Body: A War Zone" Photo Exhibition !A House for Hatidža !Portraits from "My Body: A War Zone" !PCRC Founder Co-authors ICTY Report !Upcoming Project: Bones of the Balkans !Our Team !Upcoming Events !

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Contents About PCRC !PCRC’s mission is to cultivate an environment for sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the greater Ba lkans reg ion using c r e a t i v e m u l t i m e d i a p r o j e c t s t h a t f o s t e r tolerance, moral courage, mutual understanding, and positive change. !In addition to developing our own unique projects, we leverage our expertise to act as independent consultants for local and international groups and a c t o r s , i n c l u d i n g journalists, photographers, researchers, filmmakers, n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l organizations, educational institutions and others who are interested in carrying out projects that contribute to a brighter future for this country and the region. !By building a web of relationships, we intend to establish a network that empowers BiH’s internal resources for peacebuilding while helping to maximize contributions made by the international community.

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PCRC Team at Preventing Sexual Violence Conference in Sarajevo, Joining Forces with UK Foreign Minister William Hague and UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie !On March 28, PCRC was invited to the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) Conference in Sarajevo, organized by the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in cooperation with the British and Norwegian Embassies.

This was a very meaningful event, addressing the situation of both women and men during conflict. As Deputy Defense Minister Marina Pendeš said, “Only through joint efforts and hard work we can achieve the desired result, which is the reduction and prevention of sexual violence in conflict.” It was crucial that this conference took place in a region, which has gone through a terrible war, and where sexual violence was used as tool of torture and a weapon of war.

It is hard to disagree with the UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, when she said, “For too long the world has tolerated these crimes, and left survivors to struggle in the shadows. Our goal is to bring forward the voices of the survivors of these crimes and to ask the world to stand with them and against impunity”, a message that resonates with the PCRC, who organized Jolie's meeting with rape victims from each of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constituent ethnic groups.

PCRC continues its cooperation with Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, on other initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is currently planning a series events that will provide a new perspective on the consequences of the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war.

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PCRC Works with WARM on First World WARM Festival, June 28 - July 3 in Sarajevo The WARM (War Art Reporting and Memory) Foundation is an international foundation working on the world’s contemporary conflicts. The foundation is dedicated to war reporting and art, the histories and memories of war, and the promotion of emerging talents and education. WARM is bringing people together with a common passion for ‘telling the story with excellence and integrity’.

PCRC is working in partnership with WARM to execute the first of a series of WARM festivals that will take place in Sarajevo each year. This year’s First World WARM Festival will commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, and festival events will take place from June 28 – July 3. Highlights of this year’s festival include the world première of the documentar y “Tomorrow Tripoli – The Revolution of the Rats” by Florent Marcie, Cartooning for Peace’s “Every State of War” photography exhibition, and the Culture of War Conference, which will include presentations from WARM’s Director Rémy Ourdan, photographer Paul Lowe, and the Imperial War Museum’s Hilary Roberts. !For more details visit http://www.warmfoundation.org/event/2014-06-28-the-first-world-warm-festival.

Disaster Relief Fund – Bosnia and Herzegovina !PCRC has set up a reliable channel for donations to help families and communities that have been affected by the recent flooding in Bosnia and Herzegovina. PCRC will determine the best use of funds based on needs assessments conducted by members of its network who are working on the ground in heavily affected locations. Once basic needs have been met, additional funding will go towards the rebuilding of communities and the provision of goods and services to Bosnian citizens.

Your donations will be used toward the purchase, delivery and distribution of:

• Medicine and medical supplies;

• Non-perishable food, cooking tools, and eating utensils;

• Clean drinking water and water filters;

• Baby products including baby food, formula, diapers, etc.;

• Sanitation supplies including disinfectant, soap, toilet paper, and personal hygiene products;

• Cleaning supplies for collective centers;

• Batteries, water pumps, and other necessary tools for community cleanup.

To make a donation visit http://p-crc.org/disaster-relief-fund-bosnia-herzegovina/.

3PCRC Hosts Third Genocide Prevention Workshop in Skopje, Macedonia !PCRC organized its 3rd annual Genocide Prevention Seminar, “A Framework for Preventing and Responding to Genocide and Mass Atrocities”, in collaboration with the UN Office of the Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG). The Seminar took place from October 22–25, 2013 in Skopje, Macedonia. PCRC received over 100 applications to attend this year’s seminar from organizations in the region working in the fields of human rights, peace-building, and the prevention and prosecution of crimes against humanity. Twenty organizations were selected and representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia were in attendance.

Some of the primary aims of the workshop included educating participants about the causes and dynamics of genocide and related crimes, providing tools for the recognition of warning signs that could indicate potential conflict, and informing them about the various policies that exist to prevent genocide and mass atrocity. The workshop was intended to help build participants’ capacity to better protect the civilians they represent and work with on the ground. The seminar also provided an opportunity for the development of a regional network of non-governmental and civil society organizations towards improving the exchange of information between the UN and organizations working at the grassroots level. Participants had the chance to work with distinguished experts such as Executive Director of Gendercide Watch and genocide scholar Dr. Adam Jones, Associate Director of Yale’s Genocide Studies Program Dr. David Simon, and UN Representative Mr. Mario Buil-Merce.

PCRC is currently organizing its 4th annual Genocide Prevention Seminar, which will be held from October 13–16, 2014 in Belgrade, Serbia. We will put out a call for applications in August 2014. Check our website for updates and the upcoming call for applications.

Balkandiskurs Multimedia Platform !One of PCRC’s most recent projects, Balkandiskurs, is a regional multimedia network of writers, bloggers, multimedia artists, and activists who came together in response to the lack of objective, relevant, invigorating, independent regional media. In a media culture dominated by political interests, we want to provide something different. The work that will be featured on the Balkandiskurs website will connect themes across borders and provide fresh and independent views on issues that matter to people in the Western Balkans.

This platform will be dedicated to challenging stereotypes and providing viewpoints that cannot be found in other media. As such, some of our regular topics will include transitional justice, inequality, and human rights. We aim to present these topics and make our region more understandable to both local and international audiences.

We are also looking toward the future. Young, regional talent must be cultivated to practice journalism, multimedia, and blogging that live up to international standards if we are to meet the demand for unbiased, relevant topics in the region of the former Yugoslavia. Youth are in need of a relevant platform where they can publish their work without fear of censorship. We aim to provide resources and training to talented young writers, as well as provide them with a space where their voices can be heard.

The founders of Balkandiskurs have a broad range of experience in journalism, activism, video and multimedia production, and peace building. Believing that unbiased information and access to such information can help make the region a better place, we gladly offer our highly experienced, politically independent team as consultants in the fields of media, human rights, peace building, and transitional justice. Together, we can create a clearer, more honest picture of the Balkans region and its people.

Funding for Balkandiskurs has been provided by the European Union Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA).

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Media Literacy & Resisting Manipulation – Youth Blogging Workshop !PCRC will approach the problem of skewed media reporting in Bosnia and Herzegovina through its youth-oriented blogging project, which will combine investigative journalism with creative methods of storytelling to shed light on the consequences that lack of integrity and transparency in the media have on society. The project will aim to educate Bosnian youth from ages 16 – 30 about methods they can use to avoid falling victim to skewed reporting and misinformation that is currently disseminated by the media.

PCRC will use an inclusive, multi-ethnic approach to select 10 promising youth bloggers from across country. We will choose participants from each of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constituent ethnic groups – Bošniak Muslims, Bosnian Serbs, and Bosnian Croats – as well as participants from Bosnia’s “others” category, which includes members of the Jewish and Roma communities, as well as those from mixed marriages. It is important that our participants learn about the different perspectives that exist within the country and build new networks that bridge existing ethnic divides. Few Bosnian youth are trained in journalistic best practices, which can reduce the standard, credibility, and respectability of their work. In a country that currently suffers from a lack of integrity and transparency in the media, it is vital that future media activists are trained to form and present critical, independent, and factually-based opinions.

Participants will be required to demonstrate their newly acquired skills of fact-checking, referencing, and attribution in written pieces that they will create as a part of the workshop. The youths’ entries will then be published on the new Balkandiskurs website.

PCRC is planning to hold its first workshop in the fall of 2014. We will publish a call for applications on the PCRC website and other media portals in the near future.

Funding for this project has been provided by Rising Voices.

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“Breaking the Silence and Stigma” Campaign to be Organized by PCRC and the British Embassy !PCRC will be launching a series of events in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a part of its “Breaking the Silence and Stigma” campaign, which is tied to the London 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. This campaign will provide a new perspective on the consequences of the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. PCRC will bring together various stakeholders, including civil society representatives, Bosnian youth, medical professionals, victim’s associations, and members of the international community, to take a part in bringing awareness to this important topic. A main feature of this campaign will be to bring together women from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three constituent ethnic groups — Bošniak Muslims, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats — to share and discuss their experiences of sexual violence during the Bosnian War as well as the social stigmas and lack of support they have since endured.

The program of activities will include a series of roundtable discussions, the unveiling of the photography exhibition “My Body: A War Zone" and screening of PBS’s documentary series “Women, War, Peace”.

PCRC Completes Episodes 3 and 4 of its Ordinary Heroes Documentary Series

PCRC recently completed the 3rd and 4th episodes of its Ordinary Heroes documentary series, which features the stories of ‘ordinary' Bosnian citizens, who, by choosing to rescue the 'other', became heroes in a time when their country was committing acts of genocide.

Episode 3: Zoran and Azra reveals stories from the Bosnian Jewish community and depicts their role as rescuers during the Bosnian War from ’92 to ’95. The Bosnian Jewish community was responsible for saving countless lives of people from all sides of the conflict. Zoran Mandlbaum was born and raised in Mostar, and was a pillar of the Jewish community. As a young Jewish boy growing up in post-Holocaust Yugoslavia, he remembered the suffering of his parents and was all too aware of how Nazis and local collaborators murdered members of his family. When the war in Bosnia began, he had the choice to leave, but the legacy of the Holocaust motivated him to stay and risk his life to help others in the face of atrocity.

Episode 4: Jagoda and Hamdija is a story about a boy who sought refuge in a time of war and two ordinary heroes who risked their own lives to protect him. As a young boy, Hamdija first met Jagoda and Ilija in the Bosnian village of Oćevija. The couple gave him work tending their sheep and a place to stay. Hamdija soon left to return home, not knowing that 3 years later the war in Bosnia would bring him back to the couple. Hamdija may have been a Bosniak Muslim and Ilija and Jagoda Catholic Croats, but their love for each other was blind to hatred and ethno-religious divisions. They would soon become a family whose bond could never be broken.

The Ordinary Heroes documentary series is part of a larger multimedia and educational project that aims to inspire moral courage and interethnic cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Funding for this project has been provided by the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the Fetzer Institute in Chicago.

PCRC is also pleased to announce the screening of Ordinary Heroes this coming fall on Al Jazeera Balkans’ regional program Regioscope, which has more than 500,000 viewers across the Balkans region.

To watch the Ordinary Heroes trailer go to http://p-crc.org/project/ordinary-heroes/.

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A House for Hatidža !Hatidža Saiti and her son Mirsad were forced to flee their home during the Bosnian War. They sought refuge at a local ‘collective center’ and were moved from one shelter to another at least 10 times since 1992. They ended up in a collective center in Goražde (Shelter Čajniska bb). The living conditions at center were dangerous and would be considered uninhabitable by Western standards. Their flat consisted of two rooms and the walls were all but collapsing. The inside of the home was damp and a mold problem has complicated, if not induced, Mirsad’s asthma. They didn’t have any home appliances and there was no running water.

With the help of an anonymous donation made through the Tides Foundation, PCRC was able to finally provide Hatižda and her son Mirsad with a new home. Their flat is situated on the second floor of a newly purchased residence in Goražde. The first floor of the property has been designated as a community center, which will provide the local organization POMOZI.BA with a place to run their operations, which contribute to economic development in Goražde and its surrounding areas. POMOZI.ba will allow other local organizations to use the new office for meetings and organizational activities de dicate d to e conomic development, interethnic cooperation, and peace building.

The property purchased sits on 2000 square meters of land, which will be used for chicken and goat farming and to support a locally-operated greenhouse. Eggs, milk, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables, and produce will go directly to impoverished communities throughout Eastern Bosnia.

My Body: A War Zone Photo Exhibition As a part of PCRC’s “Breaking the Silence and Stigma” campaign, we are planning to unveil the photography exhibition “My Body: A War Zone”. This deeply moving photography exhibition displays the personal testimonies and portraits of women who have been subjected to sexual violence during conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia and Nepal.

As UN Special Envoy Zainab Hawa Bangura stated about this exhibition, “Sexual violence in times of conflict has been considered the greatest silence of history. This exhibition and the brave people who helped create it are breaking the silence and spreading a message of hope, strength and resistance.”

PCRC has produced this exhibition in partnership with PROOF: Media for Social Justice in New York.

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Portraits from My Body, A War ZoneAbove: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Below: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Upcoming Project: One Million Bones - Bones of the Balkans !PCRC is excited to announce its new partnership with The Art of Revolution from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to bring the project “One Million Bones: Bones of the Balkans” to Bosnia and Herzegovina. One Million Bones is a large-scale social arts practice, which combines education, hands-on art making, and public installations to raise awareness of ongoing genocides and mass atrocities. PCRC first became acquainted the project in June 2013 when the organization and approximately 2,500 volunteers from across the United States gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to lay out over one million handcrafted bones as a visible petition against genocide and mass atrocities. The installation of the bones was the highlight of a three-day event that included speakers from across the anti-genocide movement, a candlelight vigil, educational activities and an advocacy day. Since the close of the installation on the National Mall, these bones have been awaiting their next call to action.

In July 2015, Bosnia recognizes a tragic anniversary: twenty years since the Bosnian genocide and the massacre in Srebrenica. The Art of Revolution and PCRC are now working together to bring 100,000 of the bones, one bone for each victim of the Bosnian genocide, created for the One Million Bones project to Bosnia to be displayed in the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center during a special ceremony commemorating the victims. !In 2014, during the twelve months prior to the anniversary, community members in Bosnia will participate in workshops that will result in an additional 8,372 bones, each one representing one of the victims of the massacre in Srebrenica. These bones will be used create a permanent installation and memorial dedicated to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. !PCRC feels that bringing bones, made by an international community, bones that have spoken through their presence on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to one of the most powerful governments in the world, is an appropriate tribute to those who lost their lives in Bosnia in 1995. !Stay tuned for updates about how you can get involved. For more info visit http://www.onemillionbones.org/bones-of-the-balkans/.

9PCRC Founder Velma Šarić Co-Authors IWPR Special Report on ICTY !On June 12th, PCRC interns, local university students, NGO representatives, activists, and other stakeholders visited the Mediacentar Sarajevo where the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) presented its recent special report, written by Rachel Irwin and Velma Šarić, entitled, "Hague Tribunal: Truth, Justice—and Reconciliation too?" The report delved into topics related to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and its connection to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s disputed historical narrative. The discussion included panelists Velma Šarić (PCRC/IWPR), Lejla Mamut (Tracking Impunity Always), and Almir Alić (ICTY) and was moderated by Marija Simanić-Arnautović (TV Liberty and Radio Free Europe). Three main points were stated and elaborated upon during the event. The first was acknowledging the ICTY’s limited mandate. Lejla Mamut (TRIAL) discussed how it was not in the ICTY mandate to promote reconciliation - the court was created only to “prove personal guilt”, which could impact both the legacy and efficacy of the court, according to survivor perception. The second point discussed was the responsibility of the citizens to take the initiative on peace-building work in their communities. This led into the final point, which explored the State’s responsibility and obligation to invest in transitional justice mechanisms, including reparations.

The panel also interacted with the attendees, taking questions through which they discussed the effectiveness of the ICTY’s Outreach Program and addressing the needs of the victims, the role of the present day youth in civil society, as well as the contemplation of a law forbidding genocide denial. The paper "Hague Tribunal: Truth, Justice—and Reconciliation too?" addresses all pillars of transitional justice, as well as the impact on specific individuals and communities.

To read the full report visit http://iwpr.net/report-news/hague-tribunal-truth-justice-and-reconciliation-too.

Our Team !Founder and Executive Director International Advisory Board Velma Šarić Abigail Disney Israel Charney Co-Founder and Project Director Ed Vulliamy Leslie Woodward Randi Markusen David Pettigrew Project Manager Ervin Staub Tim Bidey Gregory Stanton Paul Lowe Official Spokesperson and Chief of Advocacy Janine di Giovanni Niđara Pašanović Rafiki Ubaldo David J. Simon External Evaluator William Peter Woodward Sabina Čehajić-Clancy Ellen Kennedy Arie Nadler Project Manager and Internship Coordinator Adam Jones Tatjana Milovanović Mirko Pincelli Stephen P. Smith Research Manager Sanda Üllen Local Advisory Board Erna Mačkić International Program Developer Fikret Karčić Maria Hetman Lejla Mamut Velija Hasanbegović Official Translator Muhamed Mešić Nina Osmanović Dinka Čorkalo Biruški Hikmet Karčić Creative Developer Ahmed Imamović Dolores Šešum Sonja Biserko Seida Sarić Student Exchange Program Coordinator for Turkey-BiH Branko Todorović Ayşe Taşpınar Hasan Nuhanović Dino Abazović Office Manager Marija Simanić-Arnautović Fata Jasarspahić Donors Local Editor Saida Mustajbegović Summer 2014 Interns Jasna Čampara Anna Fontanini Juliette Ganne Jemma Hoare Nizama Koldžo Benjamin Lemerle Jennifer MacNeill Zenon Marković Taylor McConnell Matthew McEveety Dževad Sarač Stephanie Sugars Karim Sultan Thommy van Vynckt Yeree Woo !Photo Credits Midhat Poturović, Cover, p. 3, 4, 8 Mirko Pincelli, p. 6, 7 One Million Bones, p. 9 Pete Muller, p. 8 Safet Šarić, p. 3 Stephanie Sugars, p. 5 Velma Šarić, p. 7 !Design Taylor McConnell

Upcoming Events !June 2014 28: Centennial of First World War WARM Festival, Sarajevo, through 3 July !July 2014 11: 19th Anniversary of Srebrenica Massacre !October 2014 13-16: Preventing Genocide Workshop, Belgrade

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The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) Kemala Kapetanovića 30 71000 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina +387 (0)33 810 861

pcrc.bih@gmail.com postconflictresearchcenter PCRCBiH PCRCBiH pcrc