Macedonia

Bridges for the New Balkans: Regional Media Project

Bridges for the New Balkans was a regional media project that began in 2000 and was successfully implemented in Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia and Montenegro. Using media as a tool, the project enhanced trust among populations in the Balkans as a first step toward building regional cooperation. Since the beginning of the Bridges for the New Balkans, approximately 500 journalists, academics and other professionals from different countries in the region have been involved in the project.

The main objectives of the project are:

• To overcome information barriers and create a platform for common public opinion;

• To stimulate cooperation between various media outlets in the Balkan countries;

• To provide reliable and accurate information to the wider public throughout the region

Learn More about Bridges for the New Balkans...

Nashe Maalo

Nashe Maalo ("Our Neighborhood") is the first Macedonian children's television program created to promote intercultural understanding and conflict resolution skills to children. Co-produced by Common Ground Productions and Sesame Workshop, the show follows a diverse cast of ethnic Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish and Roma children as they grapple with issues such as prejudice, stereotypes, friendship and love. Five seasons were produced and broadcast on multiple television stations in Macedonia from 1998 to 2003.

Nashe Maalo is set in an ethnically mixed apartment building in a residential neighborhood of Skopje. The children living there share a common secret--only they know that their building is alive! Karmen, the spirit of the building, acts as a mentor to the kids as they negotiate the trials and tribulations of youth and adolescent life. Using her magical powers, she gives them visions that explain the hopes, fears and beliefs that guide people's actions, thus teaching them to view situations from another person's perspective. In the process, the children learn about Macedonian cultures different than their own.

Learn More about Nashe Maalo...

Documenting Conflict Resolution in Kosovo

Seven young filmmakers, two Kosovar Albanians, two Macedonians, one Macedonian Albanian, one Roma (Gypsy), and one Serb, completed six separate documentaries, depicting the experience of the war in Kosovo from their individual ethnic and cultural perspectives. This project exposed members of Kosovo society to alternative viewpoints, inspired the process of constructive community dialogue, and provided new models of conflict resolution. The dialogue that these films generated proved to be an extremely effective tool for promoting discussions about the tragedy in Kosovo. The project was completed in 2000.

The Balkans Forum

As a tool designed to help kids identify what conflict is, how conflicts grow, and how conflicts can be resolved, the Conflict Resolution Games Project operated in nearly 100 schools and involved a yearlong curriculum of games. The goal was that Macedonia would have resources and a strategy to implement an effective conflict resolution program in their educational system.