International Conference in Tirana: Post-Communism and Democracy in Western Balkans
The conference brought together 92 participants from Albania, France, Italy and North Macedonia.
Excellent speakers, researchers from academia, think tanks and students come together in Tirana, at the premises of the Mediterranean University of Albanian, to share discus and sharetheir prospective regarding passive remembrance to active participation to preserve democratic achievements.
The transition from communism to post-communism in countries like Albania and North Macedonia has been determined and strongly influenced not only by the collapse of ideologies and by the changes in the international political scene after 1989, but also by the profound changes that effected the customs, lifestyles, and collective mentality in EU. The impunity of the crimes of the communist regime continues to be a serious wound for these societies even 30 years after the fall of the dictatorship and yet it has not established a substantial division from the communist past. In that regard, there can be no reconciliation and peace without historical memory. The project participants suggested deepening the work in education and raising awareness of the younger generation, opening a debate through an analysis of the causes and consequences of dictatorial regimes, honoring victims and above all, transparency in crimes committed against humanity by communist and other dictatorial regimes.
The YOU-WB project partnership is interested in gaining a thorough overview, raise awareness and build the narrative of the role of youth generation, civil society, decision makers, historians, academics, politicians in remembering the past to build the future for the development of society within its historical context. The project has contribute to the creation of a shared transnational understanding and public debate on the relevance of remembrance in the countries’ transitional democracy and political processes like Albania and North Macedonia.
The project fostered a national and a transnational civil dialogue referring to the past and the fight for democracy under totalitarian regimes and about the present threats to democratic achievements, civic rights, counterbalances.
The second day was organized by SCIDEV visits to remembrance places in Tirana
The best papers selected targeting themes of EU relevance, transnational and intercultural aspects, and project outcomes published in an e-book
This collection of papers is the result of the four workshops organized in the framework of the project ‘Youth involvement in a constructive dialogue: Communist Past in Contemporary Western Balkan’ (YOU-WB), funded by the Europe for Citizen Program of the European Union in 2021 and 2022. Four workshops were organized:
• 1st Workshop – Tirana, 09-11 April 2021
• 2nd Workshop – Skopje, 18- 20 June 2021
• 3rd Workshop – Rome, 01-03 October 2021
• 4th Workshop – Paris, 01-03 April 2022
We are grateful to all partners and collaborators, speakers, lecturers, researchers, young researchers, activists, and students, and all interested actors that participated in the four workshops and all project activity including the final event in Tirana in May 2022.
We are grateful to authors for contributing to this collection of papers and sharing with young women and men perspectives on the communist past and most importantly on the constructive dialogue for the future.
The project publication (click here)
