kuda.

Mapping Rightwing Exstremism

Project “Mapping Rightwing Extremism” as the main aim has affirmation of youth in struggle against nationalism, xenophobia and unification of opinion. Overall aim of the project is to enable young people freedom to express their needs and thoughts about social problems and social reality in Serbia. Also, the idea of the project is to stimulate discussion and dialogue among members of different cultural and ethnic communities and to foster mutual communication. Project is directed also to zounger generations which grew during 1990s, in the time of wars and genesis of non-tolerance, haterness and violence in the country. Most of the students are sturying without basic conditions for mobility, vist to international universities and research institutes, which significantly influence to the atmosphere off closenes and isolation. Also, many humanities departments at out universities are hosts to retrograde and extream nationalistic student and youth organizations. Those are the facts that contribute creation of distance towards other religious, ethnic and national groups.

Objectives of this project: to enable active participation of youth population in decision making, in criticizing and acting against problems of nationalism, conflicts, nontolerance and closenest of our society; to promote values of cultural diversities, equlity and freedom of speach; to stimulate public discussion and dialog among young people from different cultural, ethnic and religious groups; to influence to limitation of negative trend of brain-drain, emigration of young and educated people from the country.

Mapping Rightwing Exstremism is the project where several independent youth organizations are cooperating:
New Media Center_ kuda.org, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro
AKO – Alternative Cultural Organization, Novi Sad
AFANS - www.afans.org
Kružok, Novi Sad
Demokratic Youth of Brandenburg, Germany - http://www.djb-ev.de/
D-A-S-H, European Network against Exclusion and Xenophobia - www.d-a-s-h.org
JFF - Institut für Medienpädagogik in Forschung und Praxis - www.jff.de/

- Absence of Youth Policy in the country
Now after almost thirty years of political crisis, wars, economic instability, Serbia and Montenegro is one of the rare countries in Europe which does not have built Youth Policy, nor official Youth Council. In the study «Where is (missing) Youth Policy in Serbia?» conducted by Ministry for Youth and Sports of the Province of Vojvodina, needs of youth in Serbia were researched, and the leading were: information access, alternative education, active participation in social processes, mobility – travels and youth exchange programs, etc.

- BRAIN DRAIN – Emigration of young and educated people from Serbia
Statistics show that during the 1990s, over 30.000 young and educated people have left Serbia and Montenegro to live and work in some of the countries of European Union. Serbia and Montenegro is still “on the top of the list “of EU countries where young people are trying to get emigration visas for. Some political analysis are showing that even political changes from the year of 2000 and defeat of Milosevic regime are far enough to stop leaving young and educated people from the country. They are concern that “brain drain” will grow because liberation of visa regimes is followed by breakthrough of liberal capitalistic labor strategies, where big European corporations are employing young, educated and cheap labor force from Serbia, sending them to work in different places all over Europe and world. Those are very disturbing problems for Serbia and Montenegro, since emigration of young and educated people to other countries reflects in higly negative way to social and economic development of the Serbian society.

One of the most important projects inside «Mapping Rightwing Extremism» project, the most visible and the most influencial is exchange program realized between youth activists organizations from Democratic Youthforum of Brandenburg, Germany and youth activists organization from Novi Sad and Vojvodina. First in series of workshops in this exchange program was held in August 2004 in Novi Sad, in organization of kuda.org, D-A-S-H, European youth network and Democratic Youthforum of Brandenburg. Workshop and common action of youngsters from Brandenburg from «Democratic Youthforum of Brandenburg» and youngsters from Novi Sad have shown problems that young from former socialistic East Germany and former socialistic Yugoslavia are facing with the problems of raising nationalism in local environments. Three day long workshop was joined with street action on the main city square in Novi Sad followed by dissemination of flyers and direct communication with citizens, presentation of movies and public debate in Student Cultural Center Novi Sad. The aim of the workshop is mutual horizontal networking of groups, initiatives and individuals that are already active in their different local contexts.

kuda.production