MIP holds meeting and award ceremony in North Macedonia for participants in the Inter-University Video Lecture Program
On 18 March 2022, the Mechanism’s Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) held a meeting with law professors and students from universities across the region of the former Yugoslavia, who have participated in the MIP’s Inter-University Video Lecture Programme (Programme). The meeting took place in Skopje, North Macedonia and was led by MIP coordinator Ms. Rada Pejić-Sremac.
The main agenda item was the future of the Programme, with discussion on how it could be continued after the current third cycle of the lecture series is completed. The participants agreed that in the coming period the Programme would be expanded, with greater initiative from the law faculties and students from the region, under the MIP’s overall coordination.
An alumni network was also established at the meeting, consisting of the students who participated in the first two cycles of the Programme. This network will also be open to current and future participants in the Programme, and the MIP will provide the necessary logistical assistance in the coming years.
The meeting ended with a presentation ceremony for the winners of the 2022 essay writing competition. The winning essays were written by students participating in the current third cycle of the Programme and will be published in the Mechanism’s 2022 Essay Volume. The essay topics were chosen by the participants themselves to reflect on the work and legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the Mechanism. In addition to having their essays published, each winner will spend one month at the Mechanism’s Hague branch on a fellowship programme.
This year’s winning students are (in alphabetical order):
- Enida Dučić (University of Sarajevo);
- Kaltrina Kodraliu (University of Prishtina);
- Antonio Nestoroski (University of Skopje);
- Bakir Tirić (University of Sarajevo);
- Mirsad Ugarak (University of Sarajevo); and
- Mia Vuković (University of Zagreb).
Anđela Savić (University of Niš) won the MIP Student Award of Merit for the Mechanism’s 2nd cycle of the Inter-University Video Lectures Programme.
The Programme, entitled “International Law and Facts Established before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia” is developed and implemented by the MIP. It brings together postgraduate students from 12 law and political science faculties across the former Yugoslavia in order to initiate a dialogue about the region’s recent history, the role of the ICTY, and the principles of international criminal law and international humanitarian law.
To date, more than 400 postgraduate students have taken part in three cycles of the Programme via videoconference, including law students from the Union University in Belgrade, the University of Donja Gorica, the University of Niš, the University of Podgorica, the University of Priština, the University of Sarajevo – Law Faculty and Faculty of Political Sciences, the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skoplje, the University of Split, the University of Vitez, the University of Zagreb, and the University of Zenica.
The third cycle of the Programme will continue with lectures delivered on a weekly basis until the end of March 2022.
The Programme is part of the broader MIP, which was launched in January 2019 and aims to contribute to increased awareness and knowledge among affected communities regarding the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, based on the ICTY and Mechanism cases. The MIP is generously supported by the European Union and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.