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PAGES FOR PEACE D E M O R U E IN CES YOUNG VOI 1 Contact & Imprint Interkulturelles Zentrum, Lindengasse 41/10, 1070 Wien, T: +43-1-586 75 44-20, [email protected] Editors: Daniela Mussnig, Rebecca Zeilinger. Design & Layout: Andrea Fiala. © Fotos: Interkulturelles Zentrum. Print: Druckerei Janetschek. 1 EDITORIAL “Peace is so precious. We don’t know ‘the other’ and its point of view – it is the awful slogans above. The crea- it, until we lose it. It is like health – we to recognize oneself in the other. All of tion of the “Pages for Peace” was one never fully appreciate how lucky we are us around the world have very simple task within the international project to be healthy, until a simple cold or a desires – to be safe, to prosper, to “ARTiculating Values: Youngsters act sore throat reminds us how good it was learn, to have friends and grow, to be in EuroMed. A creative initiative for before we had it. I am a firm believer surrounded by our families, to listen to interreligious dialogue and a peoples- in never losing sight of the value and music […] It is only by being able to fully connecting value debate”. The project preciousness of peace, and doing our identify and empathise with ‘the other’, involved 16 schools and six organisa- very best in preserving and maintaining realizing that by denying the ‘other’ tions from Austria, Denmark, Hungary, it, doing our very best to avoid ever of the same desires and rights that we Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Nether- losing it – and if it ever arises, doing have feels the same as it would feel to lands and Turkey and aimed at the everything in our power to prevent be denied them ourselves – that we promotion of mutual understanding conflict or resolve it as soon as possible. can hope for a more lasting solutions to and respect. All teachers, students, The longer the conflict lasts, the deeper preventing conflict and sustaining and youth workers and youngster partici- it goes, and the more difficult it is to maintaining our precious peace – in our pating in the project were invited to get out of it, to get back to peace.” homes, schools, communities, towns, write poems, articles, fictional or real countries, region.” interviews, reflect on peace or alike. The Bosnian writer Zlata Filipović was They could also draw something, create only a child when she had to experience This might sound quite easy to some comic strips or a series of photos related the “sudden and brutal arrival of war in of us and is, yet, so terribly difficult – to the topic. The contributions were her life”. From 1991 to 1993, she wrote especially if “the other” remains anony- compiled and are published within this in her diary (called “Mimmy“) about the mous, some sort of “abstract identity”. publication. horrors of war in Sarajevo. She became The “other” is, according to the yellow famous for this diary and was compared press and certain politicians the reason This compilation gives credit not only with Anne Frank. Unlike Anne Frank, for my misery. And especially the media to the young authors who managed however, she and her family survived obviously does have a major impact on to put together highly manifold and and escaped to Paris in 1993. Despite, how we see the world. “Only bad news personal texts, poems and pieces of or maybe because of her dreadful is good news“and “What bleeds, leads” art, but also to their teachers who were experience, she is a “firm believer in are the well-known, but very cynic ready to engage in this fairly unusual the fact that the only way to truly fight sayings of those who produce and sell process. war and conflict is through the heart the media. and the stomach, through empathy I wish to thank the young authors, and compassion. It is so illogical to The aim of the “Pages for Peace” is to teachers and youth workers and hope resort to such high scale of violence to offer a different and a positive picture you all enjoy the reading! resolve disputes and disagreement that with regard to other people, cultures it seems insufficient to just rationally and religions (be it in our own country Rebecca Zeilinger argue against it. The only way to see or in other countries) and to counteract Interkulturelles Zentrum 3 The Austrian Commission for UNESCO is privileged to be part of this project, which enables young people of different social backgrounds form Euro-Med countries to use arts and thus creativity to breakdown prejudice and to fight current trends of racism and xenophobia; to create core values and foster mutual respect, empathy and critical thinking. Additionally, acting as multipliers, the participants of the project also spread these massages he constitution of UNESCO states among their social environment. that “since wars begin on the minds of men, it is in the minds of men In the Pages for Peace, young people Tthat the defences of peace must be from the participating countries constructed”. This sentence, formulated illustrate their views of values, conflict, in the aftermath of the Second World identity, migration and discrimination. War, is still as relevant as it was back These incredible inspiring poems, arti- then. cles, letters, drawings and comic strips give hope that maybe, as Sophie and Facing the challenges of the 21st Astrid from Copenhagen formulated century – consequences of climate so strikingly in their Letter for Peace change, water and food scarcity, “(…) maybe someday, with the help of persistent poverty and major inequali- the citizens of the world, you [note: ties, to name just a few – we have Peace] will be able to call yourself World to work for the same goal, based on Peace.” certain common core values. To be able to define them cultural exchange Gabriele Eschig and the recognition of the benefits of Secretary-General cultural diversity is necessary. It requires Austrian Commission for UNESCO mutual understanding for each other’s values and ideals as well as the will and the desire of establishing a peaceful coexistence. It takes creativity to be able adapt to our ever faster-moving age and to find solution for the above stated challenges. These are core concerns of UNESCO. This is what ARTiculating Values is all about. 4 he present publication is the result of a task given to the Tparticipants of the project “ARTiculating Values – Youngsters act in EuroMed”. Here is what we asked them to do: WRITE YOUR OwN PAGES FOR PEACE “Only bad news is good news“ and “What bleeds, leads” are the well- known, but very cynic sayings of those who produce and sell the media. The participants of the writing workshop at our International Training Event in You might not agree with all of these Vienna received first-hand information principles and you might want to add by the journalist Markus Bernath who some as well. Nonetheless, you all have then invited them to question these an idea of what sort of (press) articles sayings as well as to step in to the shoes might contribute to more empathy of journalists and to create their own for the other, mutual understanding newspaper for a land called “Begonia”. and respect and what would rather foster the opposite – such as prejudices, Amongst other things the partici- hatred and alike. pants of the Writing Workshop – As you can imagine and as already Philipp, Norma, Istvan, Magdalena and pointed out at the International Umut – came up with a list of demands Training Event, the aim of the “Pages and principles which would, according for Peace” is to offer a different and a to them, characterize a “positive jour- positive picture with regard to other nalism“ or “peace journalism“: people, cultures and religions (be it in •True, honest, objective our own country or in other countries) •Respect private life and to counteract the awful slogans •Plurality of views above. •Express it in a clear way We invite all teachers, students, Editors‘ note: Although we received even •Be respectful youth workers and youngsters to more great contributions, only those that •Value oriented write poems, articles, fictional or real were received on time and in printing •Look at the good outcome of news interviews. You can even draw some- quality could be included in this booklet. •Compassion thing, create comic strips or a series of Due to the organizational structure of •Entertaining photos related to the topic. The more the project not all countries are equally •Media work should fit into the own contributions we have and the more represented. culture diverse they are, the better it is. 5 PAGES FOR PEACE 6 hy not laughing instead of crying? Why not love instead of hate? Why not listening instead of ignoring? WWhy not happiness instead of unhappiness? Why not helping instead of idling by? Why not accepting instead of denying? Why not being free instead of being caught? acism ... wars ... domination by the strong over Why not staying here instead of running away? the weak ... and much more ... are all problems Why not giving instead of taking? revolving around the same major cause ... Why not saving life instead of killing? absenceR of peace. People all over the world have been Why not sharing instead of keeping it to oneself? suffering from this same issue for ages. Isn’t it time for the Why not living your dreams instead of just dreaming? world to make a change? To take a step forward? To live in Why not learning instead of staying ignorant? harmony and prosperity? Why not harmony instead of anarchy? We might be descending from different religious back Why not feeling safe instead of being afraid? grounds, races, sects, social classes, but we all have a unified- Why not talking instead of keeping quiet? inner voice calling for world peace.

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