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 relation to dealing with the past). The presentations should include concrete examples. The time for working in groups is about 25 minutes. Then each group presents its conclusions, with possible questions for clarification.

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1. .
2. They split into small groups (made up of people from different regions). They discuss the heroes they wrote down 15min.
3. A small group writes a list of those considered heroes in our societies on a large paper (wall newspaper) 15 min
4. Discussion in the plenary, impressions, comments. 30 min

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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 national heroes of their community (irrespective of whether they personally see them as heroes or not). After they are done, each group reads out “their” heroes. Do not allow discussion to start before all the groups have presented their lists of heroes. Clarifications should only be allowed for lesser-known names. This is followed by discussion in the plenary.

Discussion in the plenary

Suggested questions for the discussion:

• What observations do you have on your own list and those of the other groups?
• How do you feel about the listed names? To what extent are they also your personal “heroes”?
• Is there a pattern for how people become national heroes in our region?
• How are these heroes related to the way our societies relate to the past?
• Why are there so few women on these lists?

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Printout of the questionnaire for all the participants.

Exercise description

All participants are given a copy of the questionnaire. The trainer asks the participants to think back and answer the questions with concrete examples whenever possible (time: 15 minutes).

The following questions are included in the questionnaire.

1.    When was the first time you discovered that what nationality you are makes a difference in the former Yugoslavia?

2.    Were there times when you felt superior or inferior because of your nationality?

3.    Did you ever wish you were of a different nationality from the former Yugoslavia?

4.    Were you ever jealous of another nationality from the former Yugoslavia?

5.    Did you ever feel shame or guilt because of your nationality?

6.    Were you ever angry with your own side because of the way they spoke about people of a different nationality?

7.    How do you feel now about what you are?

The participants are told right away that they will be discussing their answers in pairs and that what they say in pairs will not be discussed in the plenary.

When the questionnaires have been filled out, the participants split into pairs and exchange their experiences and thoughts (time: 20 minutes).

The questionnaire for  printing on A4 paper, prepared for being filled out, is available for downloading here

Evaluation

Suggested questions to evaluate the exercise: How did you feel during this exercise?

What kinds of questions cropped up?

What similarities and differences did you find while working in pairs?

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Exercise description

A few sets of papers are prepared beforehand, each with a statement/sentence. The papers should be of different colours if possible. When the first set of papers is laid out on the floor, the participants decide which paper to approach. A few of the participants are asked to comment on why they have approached that particular statement. First those standing by one statement are called on, before moving on to the next statement. When the last statement in the set has been commented on, the next set of statements is laid out.

Sets of statements:

1. “I lived in the midst of the war”; “The war only touched me incidentally”; “The war did not directly affect my life”; “I watched the war on TV”.
2. “Dealing with the past should be a priority in our societies”; “Dealing with the past is something I don’t understand”; “Dealing with the past is important, but there are many more important things”; “Dealing with the past is a concept imposed by the West”; “Other”.
3. “Dealing with the past is the responsibility of non-governmental organisations”; “Dealing with the past is the responsibility of the state”; “Dealing with the past is not my responsibility”; “Dealing with the past is the responsibility of the victims”.
4. “The most important thing is to convict the criminals”; “The most important thing is to establish the truth”; “The most important thing is satisfaction for the victims”; “The most important thing is for my side to admit it committed crimes”.
5. “My society has progressed far in dealing with the past”; “My society has not even started this process”; “My society has made small steps”; “My society deals with the past every day”.

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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 the past wars and the current situation in society when it comes to dealing with the past.

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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 “How the war marked my life.”

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The objectives of the workshop may include: analysing the mechanisms for dealing with the past used in our societies; shedding light on what is denied in our societies and what is valued in relation to the wartime past; establishing constructive dialogue among people from different communities and thinking about approaches and activities that would lead to more constructive changes in society. A carefully prepared and managed workshop on this topic, in a group that has established basic mutual trust, invariably leads to awakening empathy and solidarity across borders and building trust among neighbours from different communities. People feel empowered when they manage to establish an atmosphere of respect and talk about topics they usually refrain from broaching for fear of offence, disrespect, pain, denial, rejection, humiliation and helplessness. From that perspective, social change appears much closer and more accessible.

Sometimes, you can devote two or three workshops at the training to dealing with the past. These are workshops with a lot of discussion and listening, because the exercises are mainly set up that way. You should bear in mind that it can be very tiring to carefully listen to some twenty people and participate in discussions all day. A change of tempo every now and then is very important for maintaining concentration and avoiding exhaustion. That is why this workshop, as well as those on Peacebuilding and Understanding and Analysing Conflict, often features a documentary film screening relevant to the topic of the workshop,* after which discussions and listening to others continue.

Workshop Example 2

Wall Newspaper: What is Missing in War Stories?

Duration: 10 minutes

A Fair Attitude to the Past?

Type of exercise: Work in small groups, presentations and discussion in plenary

Duration: 60–90 minutes

Materials: Flipchart paper, markers

Exercise description

Step 1. Split into smaller groups based on nationality, ethnicity or religion. Each group is tasked with making a wall newspaper on: “What would need to change where my people are the majority in order to have a fair attitude to the past and take a step towards reconciliation?” The time for group work is 20 minutes.

Step 2. The groups present their wall newspapers, with possible questions for clarification.

Step 3. After that all the wall newspapers are put up where everyone can see them. The task for all the participants is to look at the wall newspapers their group did not make and add what they think is missing: “What else would need to get sorted in these communities in your opinion?” They write on the same paper but use a different coloured pen. They have 20 minutes.

Step 4. They read the additions and discuss the key issues that crop up in the plenary.

Discussion in the plenary

Suggested questions for the discussion:

What was it like writing about yourselves, and about others? How do you feel about what everyone else added to your newspaper? How much opportunity do you get to discuss this in real life and what is the attitude towards the “additions”, the tasks that people outside your group put before you?

Note

Keep in mind that some people may feel uncomfortable writing on wall newspapers made by others, so they will need to be encouraged or you will need to clarify the purpose of the exercise and how helpful feedback from others can be.

Alternative version of the exercise

In step 3, instead of all the participants adding to all the other wall newspapers, you can form smaller groups and task them with adding to specific wall newspapers. The smaller groups should be made up of people that did not participate in making the wall newspaper they are adding to. This way people would not walk around the room and go up to all the wall newspapers, but would stay in one place and focus on adding to just one wall newspaper.

I’m Sorry…

Type of exercise: Hot seats

Duration: 90 minutes

Materials: Chairs

Exercise description

The hot seats method is described in detail at the beginning of this section on p. 67. The person sitting in the hot seat in the middle tells their story about “I’m sorry that…” which is related to the past wars and the current situation in society when it comes to dealing with the past.

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