MIP participates in webinar on the use of ICTY and Mechanism archives in education

On 2 December 2023, the Mechanism’s Information Programme for Affected Communities (MIP) participated in a webinar for Croatian history teachers as part of a series of workshops entitled “Usage of SENSE interactive narratives as a supplement to the ‘Guide for History Teachers: How to Use Archival Material of the ICTY and Mechanism in Teaching the History of the 1990s Conflicts’”. This series is organised by the SENSE Transitional Justice Center (SENSE) with the support of the Association of History Teachers in Croatia (HUNP) and the European Association of History Educators (EuroClio).

During the webinar, MIP Youth Outreach Coordinator Ms. Anisa Sućeska spoke about the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ( Mechanism) and the importance of their archives for future generations. She highlighted the relevance of using SENSE and MIP video and documentary content in education, and also stressed the vital collaboration taking place between the MIP, EuroClio, and history teacher associations from across the region of the former Yugoslavia. To date, over 600 history teachers have been trained through more than 50 workshops, organised in cooperation with the EuroClio network of teachers. Post-training, over 70% of teachers have already applied their knowledge in classrooms, creating over 350 teaching materials to be used as additional resources in teaching about the 1990s conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

To document this work, representatives of associations of history teachers and EuroClio focal points, together with the MIP team, created the “Guide for History Teachers: How to Use Archival Material of the ICTY and Mechanism in Teaching the History of the 1990s Conflicts” (Guide), which was launched earlier this year. During the webinar, two chapters of the Guide – ‘The Legacy of the ICTY and History Teaching’, and ‘War and Migrations’ – were presented to history teachers from Croatia by the authors.

Some of the key speakers at the webinar were: Mr. Igor Jovanović, President of HUNP; Mr. Mire Mladenovski, President of the Association of History Teachers of North Macedonia; and Ms. Mina Vidaković, Director of SENSE. Discussions focused on the importance of interactive narratives as used by SENSE, the role of transitional justice in education, and challenges faced by history teachers in teaching about the conflicts of the 1990s.

The MIP’s participation in the webinar is part of its efforts to support projects and events implemented by civil society organisations that are active in the field of transitional justice in the region of the former Yugoslavia.

The aim of the MIP is to improve the knowledge and understanding of citizens and communities in the countries of the former Yugoslavia about the crimes committed during the conflicts of the 1990s, based on ICTY and Mechanism cases. The MIP is funded by the European Union.