WESTERN BALKANS – Youth Representative of Montenegro in the RYCO Governing Board Ms Andrea Mićanović participated in an online regional forum on “Remembrance and Intercultural Dialogue” organized by the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA) in cooperation with the Balkan Network for Local Democracy.
The event, which took place from 21 to 22 December, gathered representatives of civil society organizations as well as cultural and educational institutions that work on the topic of reconciliation and intercultural dialogue.
On the first day of the forum, Ms Mićanović attended the interactive panel discussion titled “Peace and reconciliation in new digital world: How can young people take a lead?” The panel aimed to emphasize the role of young people in peacebuilding and reconciliation in the region.
“Young people were either not born in the 1990s, or do not recall (well) the conflicts and unfortunate events of that period. This means that our possible intolerance towards others and differences is not based on direct and personal negative experiences. Therefore, it is possible and much easier to influence and change our attitudes and behaviour, by enabling us to create our own positive memories and experiences. This is why young people and youth exchange programs are in the focus of what RYCO does,” Ms Mićanović, highlighted.
Discussions continued with a focus on the challenges posed to remembrance, intercultural dialogue and regional reconciliation, as well as on the possibility to build common narratives for the Western Balkan region.
The main purpose of the forum was to contribute to the EU approximation of the Western Balkan societies through regional cooperation, intercultural dialogue and reconciliation. The event was funded by the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Program Normandy for Peace of the Region Normandy, the Western Balkans Fund and the EU Commission.