The second edition of the FESTIVAL ON Human Rights– VIVISECTfest

Topic: My Enemies: Nationalism and Xenophobia

The second edition of the VIVISECTfest was organised in Novi Sad on September 21^st-27^th, 2006, with the aim to promote ethnic understanding and tolerance.

The Festival programme focused on the issue of the increased verbal and physical violence in the society, and possible causes and true consequences of the language of hatred, nationalism and xenophobia in politics and public life, following the policy implemented by Germany while it was the EU presiding country in 2007. During its six-month mandate, Germany insisted that in all EU member countries instigation of hatred and violence on racial basis, including the negation of genocide over the Jews in the World War II, should be punished. In many EU member countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Belgium, negation of holocaust is prohibited.

The programme of the Festival is envisaged in such a way to make a frame for a debate on the issues important for the democratisation process in Serbia and its neighbouring countries. An inside view represents a basic approach to current issues like language of hatred, nationalism and xenophobia in the territory of the former Yugoslavia between 2000 and 2006.

The second edition of the Festival on Human Rights – VIVISECTfest was opened on September 21st, 2006 at "Gradilište" (The Construction Site) by: Petar Teofilović, Provincial Ombudsman of Vojvodina and Nenad Puhovski, independent film producer and director of the Zagrebdox Festival from Croatia.
Members of the Youth Club and Town Theatre from Ruma staged a performance on the topic "My Enemies: Nationalism and Xenophobia" to give their contribution to the programme.

The VIVISECTfest hosted the following guests: Nenad Puhovski, Oliver Sertić and Goran Dević (Zagreb, Croatia); Branka Rajner, Mirjana Terzić and Ivana Grabovac (Tuzla, B&H); Asmir Šabić (Mostar, B&H); Iris Elezi (Tirana, Albania); Luan Qorraj (Priština, Kosovo); Aleksandar Perović (Berlin, Germany); Janko Baljak, Katarina Živanović, Sonja Drljević, Ivan Stojanović, Dragan Popović, Marina Kovačević and Sanja Jović (Belgrade, Serbia).

 

The programme of the second edition of the VIVISECTfest

- Exhibition of photographs by Tarik Samarah Graffiti

- Exhibition of photographers from "Dnevnik" and "Magyar-Szò" titled At the Beginning of the New Century

- Reconstructed exhibition of Ron Haviv's "Blood and Honey" photographs titled Anno domini 2002

- Exhibition of applied posters titled My Enemies: Nationalism and Xenophobia by the students of the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and participants of the international Tremafest ART Camp in Ruma

-Film programme: Pawel Pawlikowski – Serbian Epics; Janko Baljak – Vukovar – Final Cut; Goran Dević – I Have Nothing Nice to Say to You; Elmir Jukić – A Frame for the Picture of My Homeland; Helge Cramer – The Amateurs and the General; Lode Desmet – Kosovo: Does Anyone Have a Plan?; Iris Elezi – Disposable Heroes; Jeanine Butler – Building Bridges; Bertram Verhaag – Blue Eyed; Rakesh Sharma – Final Solution; Ashvin Kumar – A Little Terrorist; Želimir Žilnik - Second Generation, Kenedi Returns Home,Where Has Kenedi Been for Two Years? Europe Next Door; Željko Mirković - Muharem - Music, the Eyes of Life; Oliver Sertić / Fade in – Croatia E(n)d-en on Earth; Hrvoje Mabić/Fade in– Zagreb is Calling You; Ylber Mehmedaliu, Edon Rizvanolli –Shuffle/Politics, Bullshit and Rock’n’roll; Sašo Podgoršek – Divided States of America / Laibach 2004 Tour.

The film programme included 11 films made within the Right-Wing Extremism Mapping project aimed at mobilising people of Serbia in the fight against nationalism and xenophobia. Film authors are: Filip Markovinović, Mirjana Batinić, Nenad Mikalački, Mladen Marinkov, Lidija Antonić, Mirjana Betinić, Miroslav Jović, Boško Prostran, Bob Milošević, Vladimir Sojat and Milica Lapčević. The project was in 2005 implemented by: kuda.org, Socijala Medija, Alternative Cultural Organisation, Cine Club Novi Sad, Democratic youth of Brandenburg, and D-A-S-H (European network of young people fighting against xenophobia).

- Round table Nationalism, Xenophobia and the Speech of Hatred: Causes and Consequences

- Round table Influence of the Human Rights Festival on the young people to participate in the democratisation process in the Western Balkans and EU

- Promotions:
Analysis of printed media in Serbia and Kosovo
Mobile consulting team against the right-wing extremism
Under construction
OKC "Abrašević"
Free zone

 

Exhibition of photogoraphs

Graffiti

The exhibition titled Graffiti comprises eight photographs taken by Tarik Samarah in December 2002 in the Battery Manufacturing Plant in Potočari. The photographs contain graphitti written by the Dutch troops on the walls of the plant during their mandate in Srebrenica.

The Royal Netherlands Troops were deployed within the UNPROFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, between 1993 and 1995, and were in charge of the Srebrenica protected zone.

exhibition of photographs:

At the Beginning of the New Century

Exhibition of photographs At the Beginning of the New Century comprises 59
photographs taken between 2000 and 2006 and showing incidents like knocking down tombstones, graffiti expressing hatred and hooligan behaviour of the sports fans.

The authors of the photographs are photojournalists from the dailies Dnevnik and Magyar Szò: Filip Bakić, Aleksandra Erski, Radivoje Hadžić, Đorđe Komlenski, Branislav Lučić, Nikola Stojanović, Čila David, Aleksandar Jovanović, Silard Kovač, Andraš Otoš and Jozef Gergely.

 

Exhibition of photographs:

Anno domini 2002

Exhibition of photographs titled Anno Domini 2002 comprises 64 photographs by Ron Haviv which were exhibited in Novi Sad in September 2002, together with the comments written then by the visitors beside each photograph. The pages of the book VIVISECT, which includes Ron Haviv’s photographs and the related comments by the visitors written beside each exhibited photo, are also exhibited. The exhibition in Novi Sad was held on September 10th -20th, 2002 and was visited by 5,000 people. In comparison with the exhibitions staged in other towns and cities of Serbia (Belgrade, Vršac, Čačak, Kragujevac, Užice) it provoked great attention by media and controversy reactions of the visitors. The organisers of the exhibition in Novi Sad gave the visitors the opportunity to write down their nsigned
comments on a blank paper beside each of Haviv’s photographs, which were exhibited for eight days. Every day, the visitors left their comments on blank papers, and at the end of the exhibition a total of 500 papers were gathered. The comments reveal that the process of facing the truth about the wars and war crimes in very complex, and during that process the facts which made those people unready to face the horrors of wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia yet should also be taken into account.

 

Round table:

Nationalism, Xenophobia and the Speech of Hatred: Causes and Consequences

Round table Nationalism, Xenophobia and the Speech of Hatred: Causes and
Consequences was aimed at the phenomena which slow down the democratisation process in Serbia and its opening toward the neighbours and the world. The participants of the round table were: Nenad Čanak, politician; Milan Đukić, lawyer; Đerđ Serbhorvat, sociologist, and Svenka Savić, professor of linguistics.

 

Round table:

Influence of the Human Rights Festival on the young people to participate in the democratisation process in the Western Balkans and EU

Round table Influence of the Human Rights Festival on the young people to participate in the democratisation process in the Western Balkans and EU has gathered organisers of human rights film festivals from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Berlin. Among others, the participants of the round table were also the partners of the Human Rights Festival - VIVISECTfest from the cities and towns where the programme of the Travelling Festival on the topic The War in the Former Yugoslavia – View from Inside and Outside has been implemented:  Inđija, Ruma, Kikinda, Sombor, Bačka Palanka, Novi Bečej, Belgrade and Stara Pazova. 

Projects promotions:

Analysis of printed media in Serbia and Kosovo; Mobile consulting team against the right-wing extremism; Under constuction; OKC "Abrašević"; Free zone

The initiative of young people fighting for human rights from Belgrade presented the project Analysis of Printed Media in Serbia and Kosovo, between December 2003 and March 2005. The analysis of printed media in Serbia and Kosovo reveals that media are “moving in a vicious circle of stereotypes, nationalism and hatred". Serbian media are using the language of hatred and lies, they are drawing the facts out of the context and are not informing on all events. On the other hand, media in Kosovo use the stories from the Serbian enclaves to prove that "everything is perfect", and only a few media are ready to deal with the core of the problem. The Kosovo Serbs are not any more important for the Kosovo media than their daily public utility issues. The Roma community in Kosovo is not an important issue for media either in Serbia or Kosovo. Media cover the position of the Roma only when the Serbs use up all their arguments against the Albanians, and vice versa. The analysis also reveals that media in Serbia are still not ready to write about the facts related to the serious crimes committed by the Serbian military in Kosovo. Also, the majority of media in Kosovo are not ready to speak about the crimes committed by the KLA members.

 

Mobile consulting team against the right-wing extremism is a project which has been implemented since 2001 and which offers consulting support to everybody in Berlin who wishes and needs to become an active member of the group against the right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. During the five years of its existence, the support was given to young people, citizens groups, NGOs, teachers, social workers, city authorities and politicians on the local and federal level. Their experience gathered so far regarding project implementation show that knowledge and greater sensitivity to the symptoms of the right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism make the people be more aware of the problem, whether they are faced with it in their immediate surrounding, or on a wider society level.

Under construction is a documentary series created in 2003 and 2004 which records the changes in the former Yugoslav republics and Albania. The team which made the documentaries travelled throughout the region and interviewed people about the issues inherent for the region, ranging from the fall of communism to the conflicts in war zones. The documentary series comprises six episodes in which former soldiers, local journalists, musicians, NGO activists, Roma and others are speaking about various things. Despite their differences, they share the same feelings and problems: Lesser of two evils, Unsatisfied, Disposable Heroes, Of Mice and Men, News Goes Out, Modern Times of Roma.  

Through various programmes (culture, music, art, informing and consulting the young, peer education) OKC "Abrašević"(www.okcabrasevic.org) gathers young people of Mostar and gives them premises where they can spend their free time in creative work.   

Free zone in affirmatively and clearly, in a communicative and contemporary way, induces the debate about the situation in the world and the position of Serbia in it; it opens space for tolerant confrontation of different attitudes toward the modern world. Through documentaries and feature films Free zone follows the situation in the world, avoiding media simplification and entertainment shows. The first festival of the documentary and feature films "Free zone" was held in Belgrade on December 7th-11th, 2005. This festival gathers the films dealing with human destinies in today’s world, ordinary heroes who are fighting for their basic human rights.