Interesting was the will and the love to create - the passion to create music!


Music, emotions, and joy in Kosovo's wartime



The concepts of war and joy may seem almost incompatible. On one hand, there are moments of violence, displacement, and trauma, while on the other, there exist joy and positive emotions. However, an individual’s experiences during wartime can be multifaceted, and not every emotion felt during war needs to...

September 19, 2023

We turned to more aggressive music because that's where we found our peace


Music in the culture of remembrance during times of war in Kosovo



Music can serve as significant emotional resource for people and create a sense of community. Moreover, it has the potential to distract from realities and inspire collective enthusiasm. In times of war, alongside its political and military functions, music can assume a central role...

September 19, 2023

IF NOT FOR THE DEAD, THEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE  


Imagine that there was a memorial plaque on the wall of the former police station in the regional centre of Bosnia Posavina region. A memorial plaque with an inscription indicating that Bosniaks and Croats from Brčko were tortured in the building, and especially in the room number thirteen. Just because they had different names, some...

September 12, 2023

Memory at the margins of the official narrative – Part II


Which events deserve to be commemorated? Who gets to have a statue and why?



By Blerta Hoçia



You can read part one here.



Photo from the exhibition “Once upon a time and never again” curated by Blerta Hoçia, in memory of 1,133 children murdered as a consequence of the war in Kosovo 1998-2000.



Just as in the official state narrative,...

September 7, 2023

Memory at the margins of the official narrative – Part I


Which events deserve to be commemorated? Who gets to have a statue and why?



by Blerta Hoçia



Photo by: amkmk.rks-gov.net. This memorial complex comprises of the statues of the heroes: Zahir Pajaziti, Hakif Zejnullahu, Edmond Hoxha and Ilir Konushevci.



For the time being, in Kosovo, some of these questions receive spontaneous and casual answers. There is no museum of memory...

September 7, 2023

DwP Column is a new media product of online platform about dealing with the past www.dwp-balkan.org. DwP Column is regional online platform for constructive reflection on the topics related to dealing with the past for the purpose of strengthening constructive and open approach on the regional level. By using Column tool we want to promote constructive online discourse related to current topics in the field of dealing with the past.

Interesting was the will and the love to create – the passion to create music!

Music, emotions, and joy in Kosovo’s wartime The concepts of war and joy may seem almost incompatible. On one hand, there are moments of violence, displacement, and trauma, while on the other, there exist joy and positive emotions. However, an individual’s experiences during wartime can be multifaceted, and not every emotion felt during war needs to be […]

We turned to more aggressive music because that’s where we found our peace

Music in the culture of remembrance during times of war in Kosovo Music can serve as significant emotional resource for people and create a sense of community. Moreover, it has the potential to distract from realities and inspire collective enthusiasm. In times of war, alongside its political and military functions, music can assume a central role in […]

IF NOT FOR THE DEAD, THEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE  

Imagine that there was a memorial plaque on the wall of the former police station in the regional centre of Bosnia Posavina region. A memorial plaque with an inscription indicating that Bosniaks and Croats from Brčko were tortured in the building, and especially in the room number thirteen. Just because they had different names, some of them […]

Balkan Perspectives #23

Balkan.Perspectives is a regional magazine focused on dealing with the past (DwP) in the western Balkans. Produced by forumZFD in four (4) languages, this is a collaborative effort between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. The magazine provides a platform for local actors to support conflict-sensitive discourse on issues related to the recent past. By offering a plurality of perspectives on DwP topics from across the region, the magazine aims to challenge stereotypes and ethno-centric narratives, encourage critical thinking and wider debate, and strengthen constructive approaches to dealing with the recent past.

You can subscribe to the magazine electronically by sending an e-mail to balkan.perspectives@forumzfd.de. We welcome and appreciate your opinions and feedback and hope you find it a valuable resource.

Overcoming the prejudices of the past through TV, theatre and music

Different media for conveying messages, such as television, theatre and music play an important role in raising pluralism and tolerance, while also overcoming stereotypes and ethnocentric narratives in popular culture. The artistic and cultural offer can create connections between people, expose prejudices from the past, founding values ​​that are then transferred from the local communities to the […]

Prejudices on the Balkans about sexual diversity in a wider context through examples (first and foremost) from Macedonian cinematography

Often times when you want to talk about something, and for some reason you are uncomfortable, it seems that the easiest thing to do is to distance yourself from the problem, to present it as someone else’s and to talk about it from a “safe” distance. In ordinary conversation with close people, it is most often represented […]

Balkan.Perspectives Podcast

The Balkan Perspectives podcast is forumZFD’s audio format on Dealing with the Past and Peace Education in the Western Balkans. The podcast is produced in four languages (Albanian, BHCS, Macedonian and English) by the forumZFD offices in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia. You can subscribe to the Balkan.Perspectives Podcast on the following streaming platforms […]

About Balkan.Perspectives PodCast

The Balkan Perspectives podcast is forumZFD’s audio format on Dealing with the Past and Peace Education in the Western Balkans.

The podcast is produced in four languages (Albanian, BHCS, Macedonian and English) by the forumZFD offices in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia.