The Tribunal’s Outreach Programme today continued its participation in the “Historija, Istorija, Povijest – Lessons for Today” project (HIP), by delivering a presentation to a group of 50 high school history teachers from the former Yugoslavia. This was the third cycle of presentations organised as part of the HIP project, which promotes innovative ways in which to address sensitive themes in history education.
During the two-hour presentation, the Tribunal’s representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Almir Alić, introduced history teachers to the work of the Tribunal and the important role that war crimes trials play in the process of facing the past. The aim of the presentation was to encourage the teachers to discuss with their students, using judicially established facts, issues relating to the Tribunal’s work and the crimes committed during the conflict in the 1990s. The presentation then focused on sharing the experiences and lessons learnt by the ICTY Outreach Programme through its implementation of activities aimed at young people in the region. Questions asked by the history teachers both during and after the presentation underscored the importance of direct communication between the Tribunal and communities in the region.
The HIP project is implemented by the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam, in cooperation with local partner organisations from the region. The project’s main goals are to facilitate discussion about the recent history of nationalism, discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping in the former Yugoslavia, and to stimulate conversation and critical thinking on these topics between high school teachers and their students.
The Tribunal’s Outreach Programme is supporting the HIP project as part of its completion strategy, which aims to strengthen local stakeholders and transfer its project activities to partners in the region.