Who is Supposed to Reconcile with Whom/What?

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers, felt-tip pens   Exercise description Flipchart papers are laid out on the floor (enough of them so that a number of participants can write on them...

When is War Justified?

Materials: Paper, pencils, flipchart paper   Exercise description Everyone sits in a circle with a paper and pencil. They have a few minutes to note down their answer to the...

What Should We Remember as a Society?

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description Split into smaller groups. Step 1:Prepare a wall newspaper about “What do we remember (from the recent past) as a society?” Step 2:...

What Our Societies Deny

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into groups based on nationality. Their task is to discuss and prepare a presentation about What our society denies (in...

What Can We Do to Take a Step towards Reconciliation?

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description Step 1. Split into groups based on home countries and prepare wall newspapers about: “What can we do to take a step towards...

What Can Others Do?

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description Split into four mixed small groups. The small groups discuss: “What would I like to hear from others and what would make it...

What Bothers Me About War Stories? What Is Missing?

Exercise description In small groups, the participants discuss what bothers them in war stories and what they think is missing. Discussions in the small groups are followed by a discussion...

The War and I

Materials: Chairs The hot seats method   The person sitting in the hot seat in the middle has the task to tell their story about “The War and I”.

The Media Image of the Past

Materials: Different daily newspapers and political magazines from the region, Flipchart paper, scissors, glue   Exercise description Split into three groups. Each group gets a few different dailies and political...

The Heroes 2

Subject: Personal heroes. Participants work individually and write down who their heroes were during childhood and who they are now. . They split into small groups (made up of people...

The Heroes

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into small groups based on nationality: Albanians, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, etc. Each group should make a list of the...

The Attitude of Our Societies to the Past

Exercise description Discussion in small groups of four or five people (mixed in terms of region, nationality and age) about: “How does your community deal with a painful past? What...

Telling It*

Exercise description The trainer asks the participants to sit in a circle. When everyone is seated comfortably, the exercise procedures are set up as are the rules of the discussion....

Taboos

Materials: Flipchart paper, marker   Exercise description The whole group works together to produce a wall newspaper about: “What taboos are present in our society about the violent past?” This...

Shame and Pride in the Narratives of My Society

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers Exercise description Split into small groups based on ethnicity. The task is to prepare wall newspapers about: “Shame in the Narratives of My Society” and “Pride...

Reconciliation Fishbowl

Exercise description   The fishbowl method is described in detail at the beginning of this section on p. 65. There are four chairs in the fishbowl. They are taken by...

Reconciliation Barometer

Exercise description Method barometar Suggestions of issues: Nation building is part of the reconciliation process. Recognising that an injustice has been committed and apologising are preconditions for reconciliation. Prosecuting war...

Questions I’m Not Supposed to Ask

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description Split into groups according to the participants’ home countries. The task is to prepare a wall newspaper about “Questions I’m not supposed to...

News from the Future

Materials: “News from the Future” prepared in advance   Exercise description Read out the following three pieces of “news from the future”: 1. The Association of BiH Army Veterans welcomed...

Multicoloured Barometer about Dealing with the Past

Materials: Coloured paper, papers with statements prepared beforehand   Exercise description A few sets of papers are prepared beforehand, each with a statement/sentence. The papers should be of different colours...

Memorialisation: Monuments 2

Materials: Photographs of monuments, flipchart paper, marker Exercise description Step1. In smaller groups, start a discussion about the function of existing forms of memorialisation. Prepare a wall newspaper about: “What...

Memorialisation: Monuments

Materials: Photographs of monuments, flipchart paper, marker   Exercise description Step1. Prepare wall newspapers in the plenary about: “What are monuments for? What is their purpose? Who do we make...

Large Barometer: What Does (Not) Contribute to Dealing with the Past?

Materials: Prepared papers with statements (see exercise description)   Exercise description The large barometer method The poles for the barometer are: “Contributes to dealing with the past” and “Does not...

Labyrinth of reconciliation

Divided in groups of 5-6, participants receive 20-30 notions written on paper strips, that ought to be categorized whether they belong to the reconciliation process and if not, explain why...

Justice, Forgiveness, Truth, Reconciliation*

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into four small groups: justice, forgiveness, truth, and reconciliation. The groups discuss and prepare a presentation about: “Why are you...

I’m Sorry…

Materials: Chairs   Exercise description The hot seats method The person sitting in the hot seat in the middle tells their story about “I’m sorry that...” which is related to...

How the war marked my life

Materials: Chairs The hot seats method   Use the hot seats method. The task is to use the item they have selected and brought along to tell their story about...

Hotels

Exercise description Task: “You are in the role of participants in peacebuilding training. Your task is to decide where the next stage of the training will be held. The training...

Family Narratives

Exercise description   Everyone has ten minutes to think about and note down an outline of narratives they heard in their family about the Second World War and the wars...

Documentary from the Series on Simulated Dialogue

Materials: Equipment to show and watch the film Exercise description The documentary series Simulated Dialogue* establishes indirect dialogue between people from the Balkans. Each of the films deals with the...

Denial, Justification, Truth Seeking

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into three smaller groups, each of which is to work on a wall newspaper addressing one of the following types...

Dealing with the Past in My Society

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into groups based on the countries they come from. Their task is to prepare a presentation on the state of...

Dealing with the Past Fishbowl

Exercise description   The fishbowl method is described in detail at the beginning of this section on p. 65. There are four chairs in the fishbowl: three are taken up...

Dealing with the Past Barometer

Exercise description Barometer method   Suggestions of issues: There is no such thing as collective responsibility. It would be best for international tribunals to prosecute war crimes. We must not...

Dealing with the Past 2

The quality of the workshop on Dealing with the Past depends to a large extent on previous knowledge and awareness about its major topics: violence, understanding and analysing conflicts, prejudice...

Dealing with the Past

The quality of the workshop on Dealing with the Past depends to a large extent on previous knowledge and awareness about its major topics: violence, understanding and analysing conflicts, prejudice...

Culture of Memory Before and After the 1990s

Materials: Flipchart paper, marker   Exercise description Plenary discussion about characteristics of the culture of memory before the 1990s and after the wars. One member of the training team writes...

Collective Narratives About the 1990s Wars

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description The participants split into smaller groups based on the countries they come from. Their task is to make a wall newspaper with the...

Actors in Dealing with the Past

Materials: Paper, felt-tip pens, masking tape   Exercise description With the help of the training team, the participants identify all the social groups relevant in public and political life (politicians,...

A Fair Attitude to the Past?

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers   Exercise description Step1. Split into smaller groups based on nationality, ethnicity or religion. Each group is tasked with making a wall newspaper on: “What would...

“Enemies” at Official Commemorations

Exercise description The day before, ask individuals from the group to take on roles for this exercise so that they can prepare. Their task will be to participate in displaying...