We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with the European Center for the Study of War and Peace (ECSWP), an organization based in Croatia that works to inspire positive transformation by exploring issues related to war, peace, and reconciliation. Through dialogue and interaction with local and international scholars and practitioners, ECSWP aims to develop creative responses to existing conflicts in the Balkans, a region where conflict and reconciliation are a fundamental part of the construction of nations and peoples history and where there is a continuing attempt to create post-war identities that can cope with past trauma and foster peace between the communities.

Guestbook Project has already developed several projects with the ECSWP to facilitate an exchange of narratives between Serbs and Croats (To Kiss or Kill, 2014) and have produced a Guestbook documentary (Hosting the Stranger in Divided Communities, 2011) about the lives of the youth in Mitrovica, a city in Kosovo divided along ethnic and religious lines. We now officialize this partnership founded on the shared recognition that only through sound research and open dialogue can peace become a sustainable and lasting project.

It is already confirmed that Richard Kearney will be participating in the “Peace and Hospitality at the Borders of Europe” ECSWP program in June 2018 that will examine the dynamics of conflict and the challenges involved in reaching reconciliation between divided groups.

For more information, visit ecswp.org and check our channels for further news and events.

Petra Belkovic Taylor and James L. Taylor – Directors of the European Center for the Study of War and Peace