Bournemouth University leads the Kosovo strand of a major four-year AHRC ‘Global Callenges’ project titled ‘Changing the Story‘. This project aims at supporting the building of inclusive civil societies (CSOs) with, and for, young people in 5 post-conflict countries. It asks how the arts, heritage, and human rights education can support youth-centred approaches to civil society building in Cambodia, Colombia, Kosovo, Rwanda and South Africa.
The Kosovo strand benefits from an established track record of collaboration with University of Prishtina (Co-I) and Stacion:Centre for Contemporary Arts in Prishtina as well as several arts-based civil society organisations in the country. This BU-led strand focuses on formal and informal civic education through the arts in Kosovo, to be explored locally by a Postgraduate Research Assistant, attached to University of Prishtina, through a critical review and proof of concept exercise during the first year. In support, BU is contributing a fully-funded PhD scholarship under the title ‘Imagining New Futures: Engaging Young People Through Participatory Arts in Post-Conflict Kosovo‘, which has just been advertised.
International collaborative activities are commencing this week in collaboration with an internationally-acclaimed CSO partner in Dorset, devoted to developing global youth citizenship through culture and the arts. The award-winning Complete Freedom of Truth project (TCFT), with which BU has previously collaborated, has kindly offered a one-week residency to Albert Heta, Director of Stacion: Centre for Contemporary Arts in Prishtina. This residency brings together a group of artists, workshop leaders and young people from across the UK from February 12 to 16 in Bridport. Albert’s visit from Kosovo is funded by the AHRC and facilitated by BU’s new Research Centre ‘Seldom Heard-Voices: Marginalisation and Society Integration’ of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences (FHSS). Together with Albert, some of its members will also participate in the events organised by TCFT and exchange experience and discuss best practice of working with young people of various background through the arts towards social justice. If you would like to meet Albert or become involved, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers
photo credit below: Robert Golden
