Field Visit Report

 4-Months Qualification Course Peace and ConflictConsultant 2008

Participant:
RenateRädle

 Fieldvisit placement:
OmladinskiCentar (Youth Center) Jajce

UlicaII Zasedanja AVNOJ-a
70101Jajce
Bosniaand Herzegovina

Mentor:
BinelaAgic
Tel. ++387-30654027
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Description of the Organisation and theProject
13 years after the Dayton Peace agreementthe population of Jajce is divided along national/ethnic/religious lines into catholicCroats and muslim Bosniacs. The main political parties have ethno-politicalprograms. Economical and social networks function according to the “nationalkey”. Except for the gymnasium, schools in Jajce are divided into Catholic andMuslim schools and the children are taught according to different nationalcurricula. The ruling parties and influential leaders lack political will to lessen the ethnic-religioussegregation of society. Many have left Jajce, among them many young people thatdon't see neither professional nor personal perspective in the town.

OC Jajce (Youth Centre Jajce) is a youthcentre that developed from a CPS youth project founded in 1999 as a cooperationof Friedenskreis Halle, International Mennonite Organisation and BMZ Germany.Since 2003 the organisation is registered as a local NGO and worksindependently in cooperation with Friedenskreis Halle. It is non-governmental,non-partisan, non-religious, and multicultural. At the centre are workingcurrently six local staff members and one volunteer from Austria.

Vision
The vision of OC Jajce is that the positiveenergy of the younger generation will bring back life to Jajce. OC wants toencourage the creativity, imagination and talent of young people, give them avoice and strengthen their position in the community of Jajce.

Mission
Open for everybody, regardless of religion,nationality or sex, OC Jajce offers various programs, activities and courses inthe field of education, sports and culture. Through informal education in mixedgroups and international exchange projects young people are encouraged todiscover their needs, dreams and potentials. With its work OC Jajce supportsthe young people to take own decisions and to take life in their own hands.

 
OC Jajce consists of three sectionsresponsible for the following activities:

1.      OC Projects 

- InternationalVolunteer Service (incoming and outgoing volunteers)

- internationaland regional exchange projects

- localworkshops and programs

- activities inthe community

2.      OC Senzor

- redaction,publishing and distribution of the local monthly newspaper „Senzor“

3.      OC Program

            - regular evening courses (English,pre-school education, break dance, fitness-room, music-room, dance)
 

External and self assessment as a peaceproject:

 
Link with conflict work and peacebuilding

OC Jajce is doing youth work in apost-conflict situation on local level. Their field of action is providingspace for encounters and dialogue between young people from all parties of theconflict and from abroad. Other fields of action of CPS, as strengtheninginformation and communication channels related to the conflict, reintegrationand rehabilitation of groups affected by violence, training in civil conflictmanagement, peace education, strengthening of rule of law on local level,building or influencing institutions etc. do not explicitly belong to theworking field of the organisation, still their activities do have an indirectinfluence on them.

In Jajce, the youth centre is one of thefew organisations with mixed staff. “Creating space, where the youngsters canexperience that their needs are the same, no matter if they are Croat orMuslim, is important for conflict prevention”, says the director of OC. Allsections of their activities, the local program, the (international) youthprojects and the newspaper contribute to the creation of a neutral space formutual understanding. The young people from other countries participating inthe international exchange projects play a very important role, as they are notable to recognize the difference between Croats and Bosniacs and thus canfunction as mediators and help create a neutral atmosphere preventingconflicts. Incoming and outgoing volunteers get to know different views,cultures and working styles and gain experience in intercultural communicationand cooperation. In a new surrounding the young people are confronted with ownand other's expectations and learn to clarify their needs and to find solutionsthat are suitable for all sides.

Establishing of dialogue

Main emphasis lies on supporting dialoguebetween young people fostering mutual understanding. The work of the youthcentre is not explicitly focusing on dialogue only between the conflictparties. Through youth exchange projects, OC Jajce supports the dialoguebetween young people with different cultural and national backgrounds. Theparticipation in the program of the European Volunteer Service strengthens thedialogue with individuals, organisations and institutions from the EuropeanUnion. Other exchange projects foster exchange between youngsters of countriesof South East Europe.

Obligation to the principles ofnon-violence

The principles of non-violence belong tothe rules every participant in OC's programs has to respect.

Civil society components which allowprocesses of interest balancing

The monthly magazine “Senzor” informs thecitizens about local events and activities in culture, sport, political andsocial life of Jajce and contributes a non-partisan view on conflicting themesor incidents in the town. There is also a cooperation with the city of Jajcepublishing informations for the citizens in the magazine.

Suitabilityas a project for the field visit

Thefriendly atmosphere of the small city and its open and talkative citizens makeit easy to get in touch with the people, their history, views and values. OCJajce is an example of a grass root organisation that succeeded to carry ontheir work after the CPS persons left in 2003. It is interesting to see how theteam modified the approach, adopted it to the local culture and needs andgained trust and respect of the community. The work of the youth centre is morelinked to youth work in general than explicitly to work on conflict and peacebuilding. As there is no CPS-person, her or his work cannot be observed, butthe challenges might be similar.