Proposal for Support of the Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Series (BYRSS)

THE BALKAN YOUTH RECONCILIATION SEMINARS (SESSION 2)

Goals and objectives

Having successfully concluded the first session of the Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Series in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (August 5-10, 2000) FAF once more seeks to bring together students within the Balkan region to discuss the future of the Balkan Peninsula in an atmosphere of tolerance, to multiply the positive affects of this first session, and to further advance peace in a region torn by war and civil conflict.

The main goals of the Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Series are:

The above goals were very well received by the participants of the first seminar session (please refer to the attached quotes from the students or visit our website: www.faf.org/byrss); and the continuation and multiplication of the initiative was generally called for.

The second (and third) session of the seminar series is a response to this request. (The third session will be organized in formal cooperation with Civic Education Project, who have asked us to bring an artistic, cultural exchange aspect to their established debate forums.)

Working method of the Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminars

The BYRSS are a series of artistic and cultural activities, workshops and discussions, as well as of planning sessions of an executive nature, specifically designed to help students discover their similarities under the thin surface of nationalistic and religious differences, thus bringing them to understand and respect one another; to acquire different methods of non-violent conflict resolution: skills to transform anger and doubt into positive, productive energy and skills to work in a team for the common goal; to acquire a deeper understanding and knowledge about the institutions of civil societies, and learn different leadership skills necessary to further their countries on the way to such a society. Computer time is allowed to all students.

Friendship Ambassadors Foundation believes, and the results of the first session enhance this belief, that art and culture, being the universal languages, can be a more effective tool to start meaningful inter-cultural communication than any political effort or rational debate, bound by the limits of language.

Art has the power to heal, challenge and bring us together. FAF postulates that it is an intercultural education, not futher nationalistic teachings, that will best lead the way into the future of these young people. Computer skills enable the students to help re-frame issues. In the words of the late Margaret Meade; "the best answers destroy the questions". Internet access stimulates new ways of perceiving future success.

Expected results

The project has already begun the dialogue among the youth of these countries and will thus contribute to the peace-process in the Balkan Peninsula. Students have started to imagine a new future for their region: a federation or loose network of autonomous 'floating islands' within countries among which the cohesive force will be friendship and the understanding of their common cultural heritage; appreciation and respect for cultural differences; as opposed to a forced political unit of nations ever in contradiction. Students are being taught and encouraged to start cross-border cooperation on a small scale at first, among themselves, but this cultural cooperation will later serve as the basis for economic and political cooperation on a large scale.

Seminar Structure Sessions at the Second Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar will be offered and conducted by renowned artists and organizations experienced in working with disadvantaged youth. Their sessions are designed in collaboration to create a highly interrelated structure that will lead to the creation of a common goal. Main theme of session: "Creating "BALKANIA", the dreamland of the Youth"

"Balkania" is an entity that was invented by the participants of the first seminar session in the frameworks of two workshops:

1. offered by the US organization "My Sister⤁s Place", a workshop designed to create the ideal state through a consensus of all participants; and

2. offered by the Bulgarian organization "Traditional Culture and Sustainable Development Society", a workshop designed to create a cultural route along the Balkan peninsula to show the natural, historical, cultural and religious diversity of the region in a way that promotes tolerance.

3. FAF staff is on hand to supervise and train students on basic computer skills and internet mobility. Due to the shortness of time at the first session, this concept was merely born, but not developed. During the second session of the Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Series, it is our intention to follow this idea and design Balkania, the Dreamland of the Youth: an entity that is united by understanding as opposed to political interest; and one that is maintained through peace, as opposed to war. Students will also be challenged to design "The Trail of Peace and Understanding": a route to get visitors acquainted with the rich diversity of the region.

The cultural products elaborated in frames of the artistic workshops will be integrated into the itinerary of the tour. FRIENDSHIP AMBASSADORS FOUNDATION Friendship Ambassadors Foundation (FAF) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with a mission to advance peace, mutual understanding, and global cooperation among nations, as well as to promote sustainable development and the values of civil and open societies, through international cultural exchange programs. Founded by Fullbright Scholar Harry Morgan, FAF has facilitated international exchange programs as an independent foundation since 1973 and prior to this as an informal program supported in large part by Lila and Dewitt Wallace (founders of Readers Digest).

Currently FAF remains a public, nonprofit organization with international offices, affiliations, and representation. FAF programs have included many well-know participants throughout the last four decades; like United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan, author Alex Haley, Mother Theresa, Senator Jay Rockefeller, President Vaclav Havel, three American astronauts, the Director of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and others. However the foundation is most proud of the tens of thousands of private citizens and the millions of lives that have been touched and changed by the exchange its programs engender.

Background: Past and Recent FAF Affiliations with the United Nations UN Secretary General Kofi Annan came to the US during the first 'Ambassadors of Friendship' tour in 1960 and has remained a supporter ever since. A 1998 FAF project, the International Storytellers Conference, was a means to aid a literacy program for youth in small villages in Ghana, his homeland.

FAF was an Official Observer at the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing and an Official NGO at the related Forum. Hundreds of women and men from organizations worldwide traveled to the conference through FAF; the foundation arranged each organization's daily agenda during and after the conference, as well.

FAF facilitated and partially sponsored the Bulgarian portion of the UNICEF-related tour of artists to the Balkans (June, 99; from the Bond Street Theatre of New York, Joanna Sherman, Director) and included performances at the Kosovo refugee camp in Macedonia. FAF continued in Bulgaria, noted above, as a Flagship Partner in UNESCO's IYCP, during its first session with the youth in the Balkans last August.

The current session planned for January will later be promoted through the channels of FAF to NGO leaders, journalists, travel agents, etc., whose visit to the Balkan Peninsula will establish long-term relationships and thus contribute to sustainable development and the building of civil society. The three most active students (selected on the basis of the students' will be awarded a trip along this route.

All workshops offered in the frameworks of the seminar will relate to the above-described main theme and contribute to achieving the set goal: Debate Sessions by IDEA Debate Team will give students opportunity to address the most burning issues of their region, allowing them to get a better understanding of the ongoing processes, thus contributing to the creation of an ideal state, or federation of states.

Theatrical Sessions by Bond Street Theatre (US), Teatret OM (Denmark) and Part Theatre (Bulgaria) will teach students the skills of working in an international team, and allow them to rediscover themselves and better understand each other through theatrical expression. Folk Dance Sessions by Zivili Dance Company (US) and local, Hungarian ensembles will give students insight to their common cultural heritage. Folk dance will also be incorporated to the itinerary of the imaginary trip along Balkania. "Contemporary Prayer Beads" Session by Eleanor Wiley (US) will teach students about religious tolerance by discussing the common features of these spiritual paths, in an informal atmosphere.

"The Balkan Vision" Labyrinth workshops by Cathrine LeVasseur (US) allows students to walk a path over the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, and in an easy form of meditation contemplate on the meandering path being the metaphor of life itself. Ms. LeVasseur's sessions incorporate mandalas (a pattern symbolizing wholeness), another powerful tool to finding inner peace.

Computer sessions will give students knowledge about the Internet and its potential for transformation. The World Wide Web has redefined the world; and we deem it important for these students to experience the earthquake it has caused beneath their very feet. Lectures by guest speakers from internationally renowned NGOs will provide students with a better understanding of the structure and institutions of a civil society, and enable them to outline the road-map to get their region there. Practical sessions on NGO management, Fund Development, Public Relations and Communication will provide students with skills necessary to take initiative, start cross-border cooperation, and will enable them to become well-trained, devoted leaders of their societies. Computer access is available ten hours daily.

Proposed Itinerary of the second Balkan Youth Reconciliation Seminar Session:

January 7, Sunday: Arrival of the international facilitators; reception (possibly hosted by the US Embassy in Budapest).

January 8, Monday: While the students arrive and register, the facilitators meet for a final preparatory session. The organizers of the seminar conduct a pre-seminar press conference. In the evening all students and facilitators are invited to a friendly get-together party and a welcome-banquet.

January 9, Tuesday: In the morning participants will be given a tour of the city to get them acquainted with the hosting country. After lunch Executive Director Patrick Sciarratta will formally open the seminar session. The afternoon and evening will be devoted to an informal inter-cultural sharing event, where students have a chance to present themselves to their fellow-students through performances, readings, or other structured sharings.

January 10-12, Wed-Fri: These days will be devoted to working sessions. Each day will start with a meditational labyrinth walk to focus the participants' minds; after which invited guest speakers representing internationally acknowledged NGOs will introduce students to the work of their organizations. The rest of the days will be devoted to the artistic, cultural and academic sessions described under "Seminar Structure". In the evenings students will be invited to take place in informal, semi-structured inter-cultural activities (such as a dance house or a video presentation). Hungarian ensembles have agreed to donate performances to the seminar for some of the evenings.

January 13, Saturday: In the frameworks of a closing plenary session the results of the week's work will be presented (i.e. Balkania and the cultural path), followed by the discussion of recommendations to the United Nations will take place.

We hope to close the second Balkan Youth Seminar session with a new resolution, similar to the one accepted at the first session, to sum up what the seminar has accomplished. (See previous one attached.) This day will include a visit to Hungary's renowned National Museum, as per the invitation of the museum's leadership. Students and facilitators will be invited for a farewell banquet tonight.

January 14, Sunday: departures Participants FAF expects to fully support the participation (travel and land expenses) of 5 to 10 students ages 16-22 - per country from the following countries:

FAF expects to partially cover the participation of students applying from Greece and Turkey, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Hungary. (Partial sponsorship means the coverage of land expenses only.) FAF welcomes applications from other (European and overseas) countries, for these students will bring a different perspective to the discussions and create a global focus on the seminar. However applicants from these countries will be responsible for the expenses of their participation themselves.

Students will be selected on the basis of a 150-200-word essay they are required to submit along with their application forms. Participants of the first seminar will be invited to secure the continuity of the project; new participants are sought in order to extend the positive effects of the seminar to the broadest group possible.

Facilitators In addition to the international facilitators, diplomats and the media have also been encouraged to attend. Logistical Staff: FAF full time staff in Budapest, Sofia and New York will facilitate the events. FAF's decades-long tradition of facilitating student-based cultural exchange in Central and Eastern Europe makes the organization a trusted partner in this arena. Seminar Venue The venue chosen for the second session of the BYRSS is Budapest (Hungary), because:

BUDGET Expenses: Accommodation and full board for students and international facilitators $11,500 Travel subsidy of students and international facilitators $16,000 Fee for Hungarian 4 facilitators (@ $150 pp) $1.200 Fund development, Public relations $3,000 Venue and equipment rental, supplies and programming expenses $4,500 Computer rental and Internet access for Internet sessions $8000 Promotion and media development $1,500 Administration costs, Insurance (15 %) $6,855 Total $52,555

Revenues: Hungarian National, EU and UNESCO, European Mobility Fund support $14,865 Private donations $14,690 Sterling City Fund $7,500 Vanderbilt Family Fund $7,500 FAF staff time (1 full time person in Budapest and Bulgaria; 3 full time in United States) In Kind Total: $44,555 $8,000 is currently urgently requested