The Balkans Program

The Seeds of Peace Balkans program was inaugurated in 2000 with a camp program in the Olympic Village, site of Greece’s historic games, in partnership with the Andreas Papandreou Foundation. The Balkans program was then held annually, gathering youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Albania at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine.

The wars between and within the former republics of Yugoslavia scarred and often shattered the families of these youth and many spent the ensuing months or years as refugees or hosts to refugees. With NATO troops securing the safety of many, the pursuit of peace is fraught with memories of neighbors turning against neighbors and fear for security and the future.

Summer Program

The Balkans program, conducted annually at the Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine, graduated more than 200 Balkans youth. The youth were selected in a highly competitive process organized by Seeds of Peace and administered throughout the region with the help of many local and international non-profit organizations, including Open Society Initiative offices of the Soros Foundation, and US Embassy offices.

In building trust and respect among these youth who have so recently known the horrors of war, the Group Challenge Camp component was an invaluable tool. In mixed national and ethnic groups, the youth relied on each other as they were trained by professionals on high and low rope courses. In daily conflict management meetings, the youth were led by professional facilitators to develop the communication skills of coexistence required for the intense and enlightening discussions that lay ahead. A team of Balkan and American facilitators led the youth through an exploration of their identities, stereotypes and perceived histories, to discussions of the contentious issues that help them understand their own perspectives and the other points-of-view. In an atmosphere of trust and respect established by the facilitators, the youth began to look forward and consider together what steps their societies and they, as individuals, can take to build a more peaceful future for their communities and region.

Year-Round Program

Despite skepticism or resistance of families and friends, Balkan Seeds remained committed to the program’s objectives when they returned home from Camp. Yugoslav, Croat, Bosnian, Kosovar, Albanian and Macedonian Seeds maintain their dialogue and network of friendship through a variety of follow-up programs.  They publish their thoughts and writings quarterly in The Olive Branch [1], a magazine created by Seeds graduates. Seeds of Peace challenges the youth to further develop their conflict management and analytical skills in advanced coexistence-skills training workshops and international conferences. Balkan Seeds graduates are active participants in Seeds Leadership Training and educational opportunities. At Camp. Seeds of Peace shows campers how to be leaders and, at home, they rise to the challenge by initiating their own conflict resolution programs that include school and community presentations and meetings of Seeds in each other’s countries.