On 10-11 June, ICTY Outreach programme participated in the 10th Kid’s Festival in Sarajevo. Similar to the previous year, BiH Registry Liaison Officer (RLO) held a series of workshops for elementary school pupils from across BiH, introducing them to the work of the institution and its achievements.
Furthermore, age-appropriate photographs from wartime events and ICTY proceedings were used as a catalyst for a larger discussion on reconciliation efforts in BiH, after which the children were encouraged to express their reactions to the workshop through drawings.
Over the two days, BiH RLO engaged with some 150 children from across ethnic and geographic divides in BiH, including from Sarajevo, Istoèno Sarajevo, Visoko, Tuzla, Breza, Donji Vakuf and Bihaæ. The drawings made by the participants were forwarded to the Outreach office in The Hague to be used for further promotional activities, such as exhibitions, postcards, on- line presentations on both social media and the outreach web site.
Festival Director Susanne Prahl praised the success of the Outreach Programme’s participation and said: “Kid’s Fest in BiH is the largest gathering of youngsters around the world, so that its significance goes far beyond the boundaries of the city of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over 40,000 schoolchildren each year take part in a large variety of over 100 workshops and animations organized by international and local organizations and institutions, where they have unique opportunity to learn more about each organisation’s activities through fun and interactive approach. One of the Festival’s successful stories is the ICTY workshop.
The aim was to raise awareness about the issues of justice and fairness. Children from all around the country had a chance to learn more about the functioning of the tribunal, ICTY was an abstract notion for them, called “Hague”, with no idea about its role – after the workshop the kids actually understood the importance of the tribunal in the reconciliation process. “Hague” had become more then a word, but an institution with an important significance in the life of each BiH citizen, especially the young generation. This year we expect equally interesting workshop with lots of interaction and creative contributions of participants from around the country.”
Sarajevo ‘Kid’s Festival’ is the largest of its kind in South East Europe welcoming nearly 40,000 children each year to participate in workshops and games designed to build confidence and educate them about other cultures. The Festival aims to promote tolerance among different ethnic groups and is a useful venue for sharing information about the work of the ICTY.
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