Breakthrough for integrated education in Croatia

NDC Osijek has worked for integrated education in the Vukovar region for the last seven years. We started then to dream about a school where Serbs, Croats and every other ethnic group could feel treated with dignity and respect. This is not a particular problem in Croatia/Vukovar. It is becoming a central political issue all over Europe. We can see how students are segregating in the Oslo schools as well. I assume there is a connection between  500 days without a government in Belgium and the segregated schoolsystem in parts of that country.

NDC Osijek has mobilized teachers, parents, students. Local and national politicians. Still the final breakthrough never came. The Ministry of Education did not embrace the idea. Although the President of Croatia Ivo Josipovic has been very supportive all the time. He showed that last week when he gave the Award of the Republic of Croatia for the exceptional results in the education of children of different ethnicities in a multi-cultural community and the fight against segregation in education. With the recent election and change in government, we believe that the issue of segregation in schools will be addressed more seriously.
Our hope is that Vukovar, which in 1991 became the symbol of war, destruction and the breakup of Yugoslavia, can become the symbol of hope, integration and reconciliation. If the “new school” is realized Vukovar will show the road toward the future for people in divided communities all over Europe. And to NDC Osijek it will show that Nansen maybe was right when he said that the impossible only takes a little longer time. Dedication, commitment and hard work still pays off in the world we live.


Steinar Bryn

United we stamp!

It was a nice afternoon in Sarajevo. The three postal services in
Bosnia Herzegovina came together for the first time in history to
issue a joint, but still different Fridtjof Nansen stamp. I have on my desk the Croatian, the Serbian and the Bosnian version of the stamp. For me of course it is impossible to see any difference. Same photo, same price, same background.

At the exact same time a similar event took place in the Bosnian Embassy in Oslo, Norway. Very proper since it was the Bosnian ambassador to Norway, Elma Kovačević, who originally came up with the idea. This symbolizes the strong connection between the two countries. More than 15 000 Bosnians are living in Norway and making their contribution to the Norwegian society in different ways. The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialog work on building a stronger connection between the Bosnian diaspora in Norway and their home communities. More than 500
people from B&H have visited Lillehammer over the years.

So the event unfolded and all three gave their similar speeches about Nansen and the stamp, I could not detect any ethnic difference in the perception of Nansen. I think for everybody present, it became obvious how the ceremony symbolized the division of the country. To issue three similar stamps in the same country with three similar speeches in order to respect three different people in the same country could be meaningful if the stamps were available to the three different people. But the availability of the stamps is geographically determined, you cannot buy the Serbian stamp in the Federation and vice versa.

People came from Zvornic, Jajce, Bratunac, Srebrenica, Prijedor and of course the NDC staff in Mostar and Sarajevo. I counted five participants from Lillehammer in 96/97 in the audience. The OSCE Ambassador were there and the ambassadors from several European countries. Good media coverage.

This event was so full of symbolism, so full of the obvious division in the country, but still a unified celebration that pointed toward a more unified future.

Divided we stand, but united we stamp!

...one of the best experiences in my whole life...

The following is a blogpost by Bojana Stosic, a participant at the Dialogue and conflict resolution course at the Nansen Peace center in connection to the International Summer School.

To be honest – when I found out that I had been awarded a scholarship for International Summer School in Oslo that includes attendance to a dialog seminar at the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer together with other candidates from the Balkans and the Caucasus I was happy, but at the same time kind of afraid.

Days of peace & joy in Lillehammer

The following is a blogpost by Sandra Smolovic, a participant at the Dialogue and conflict resolution course at the Nansen Peace center in connection to the International Summer School.

An incredible week is already behind me. Everything happen so suddenly - dialogue, peace building, history, friendship, religion, identity, heroes, models… I’ve been entangled and wrapped up into the network - Nansen Dialogue Network in Nansen School in Lillehammer.

Lets not forget the USA!

We look upon the U.S as a combination of the American Way of Life and
a conflict oriented nation too willing to go to war when needed;
Kosovo, Irak, Afghanistan and now Libya. This might create an
understanding of the U.S. not able to detect all the undercurrents
very much alive and flowing vibrantly. I recently participated at the
Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Decorah, Iowa. A cooperation between the
five Lutheran colleges in the American Midwest (Luther College,
St.Olaf College, Augsburg College, Concordia College and Augustana
College) and the Nobel Institute in Norway. The purpose is to
celebrate the winner from a year before, in this case Obama. Well, he
did not show up. He probably listened to his strategic advicers:

“Don’t remind the American People of this. It will not do you anygood.”

Trygghet i uvissheten

“(…)De fleste har mistet alt de har, så de tenker nesten hele tida negativt. Om vi har noe å gjøre, om vi kommer hit til klassen og snakker om forskjellige ting, om hvordan vi kan ta kontakt med folk og sånn, det er positivt og jeg er glad for at vi har en sånn klasse”

- Sitat asylsøker

For andre gang er jeg med Christiane på et av kursene hun holder på Ringebu asylmottak. Kursene inngår i Nansen Fredssenters prosjekt “trygghet i uvissheten”, og et av målene med det er å gi beboerne en meningsfylt opplæring som kan lette belastningen ved det å bo i mottak, og samtidig være nyttig for asylsøkerne uavhengig om de får opphold eller ikke.

Målet med opplæringen kan høres banalt ut, men den kan faktisk være et av de viktigste tiltakene for integreringen av asylsøkere, og samtidig være et bidrag til psykisk helse og internasjonalt fredsarbeid. En svulstig påstand, men en jeg tenker å begrunne her. For å gjør det er vi nødt til å starte med en situasjonsbeskrivelse.

How I became a blogger!!

I honestly thought this would never happen. Blogging, twitting and facebook have been words not existing in my vocabulary. What explains the change? Active use of facebook by my daughter Hedda Langemyr. Influence by Simon, our new information worker. But a few days ago I visited Chicago. An old friend from my childhood valley Groruddalen, Berit Engen, lives there. Her daughter Tavi Gevinson started her blog 11 years old. She is now 14 and communicating with the whole world. Then I googled blogging and came across an article "How to become a blogger" and it read," if you want to become the new Tavi Gevinson". Well , that is taking it too far. I just want to become me, or continue to be me. But I have to admit, Tavi indirectly inspired me to become a more visible me - in this our new blog. I honestly thought this would never happen.

- Steinar