UDI-EUROCLIO
This non-governmantal organization assembles history teachers from Serbia.
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Young Researchers of Serbia (YRS)
YRS is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organization
that gathers young people. Activities are mainly focused on
the topics of youth, voluntary service an environmental
protection
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EUSTORY Academies in 2008
09 October – 16 October 2008
Opening the “Black Box Balkan”: Stereotypes and prejudices towards and in a multicultural region
In cooperation with: UDI-EUROCLIO and Young Researchers of Serbia
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
From 9 to 16 October 18 young Europeans from twelve different countries participated in the youth academy in Belgrade, Serbia, which was organized by EUSTORY in cooperation with the Association for Social History-EUROCLIO and Young researches of Serbia from Belgrade. Prizewinners of national history competition from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia had an unique opportunity to participate in the international academy under the topic "Opening the black box of Balkan - Stereotypes and Prejudices towards and in a multicultural region": They tried to discover, deduce and maybe even break some stereotypes and prejudices about the Balkan. By exploring music and daily life, architecture, environment and local customs they opened the Balkan black box and tried to determine if there is such a thing as a "Balkan identity". They examined the extent to which our own expectations and prejudices about Belgrade, Serbia and the Balkans are realistic.
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
The participants were allocated on a floating house on the river Danube, from which they had an amazing view on both sides of Belgrade - old and new. Through the lectures and personal experience they explored the music, food, customs and felt the pulse of Belgrade as a multicultural city. Thus, the participants had an opportunity to compare the real and imaginary life of the "true Balkan city". Furthermore they were able to compare their impressions with the official statistic about everyday life of Belgrade citizens. Vlad from Romania stated: "It was interesting for me to get familiar with the Balkan way of living, with their food and music, to meet teenagers and to confront their ideas about the future of Serbia"
Through the lecture from Radina Vucetic, in the Philosophical university, they learned important facts about the historical background of stereotypes and prejudices towards the Balkan. On another day they heard lectures from an ethnomusicologist about the traditional music from the region of the Balkan. Furthermore they had opportunity to learn about the multiculturalism in architecture from an art historian Ljubica Corovic. They also experienced this multiculturalism in architecture by exploring three different parts of Belgrade by foot. Lelde from Latvia said: "We were there, on the streets, at Kafana, at the church, at the university to feel what Belgrade really means and to realize that it is so easy to form prejudices about something you don't know."
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
In the fifth Belgrade gymnasium the participants discussed with other teenagers of their own age, about the possible misunderstanding about the Balkan and Serbia. Aleksandar from Serbia: "In fact, we are all the same. Teenagers are teenagers here as well as they are on Greenland. We all have the same aspiration, needs and interests. What makes the distinction between us is the perception that we have about each other. This is a precise consequence of education and political machination."
Another day was dedicated to the ecological question. The participants, thus, made an excursion to Big War Island - a unique nature enclosure just five minutes from the center of Belgrade as well as Pancevo, a most polluted surrounding, and Kovacica, a multicultural city. Moreover, the students had the opportunity to get to know the Serbian public holiday Slava and its traditional customs.
Photo: Milena Tatalovic
The participants summarized the results and impressions by preparing a special power point presentation about the academy, a unique talk show and the tourist guide throughout Belgrade. According to both, the students and the organizers the academy was successful and it accomplished at least a few of its goals: young European historians left Belgrade full of diverse impressions with some prejudices broken - and maybe some new ones. Lelde from Latvia stated: "This would be the conclusion I drew from this academy, regarding not only Serbia and Balkans, but the whole world: before forming stereotyped images about a person, a country or a nation, we should first know and understand all its faces". We, sometimes, cannot negate our own indigenous mechanisms, but we can tend to multiculturalism as a language of a better understanding - which our participants exactly did for these seven days.
