Project title: Youth remember the forgotten
Beneficiary: Youth Initiative for Human Rights
Implementation period: 1.10.2023. - 31.3.2025.
The problem we want to address with the project "Youth remember the forgotten" is the rise of nationalism among young people due to the lack of a responsible dealing with the past, which includes the effective implementation of transitional justice mechanisms in Croatia.
In Croatia, ethno-nationalism prevails in public spaces and political discourses, which threatens respect for human rights and European values, primarily the values of preserving peace and equality before the law. As the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, we believe that there is a direct causal link between the wars of the 1990s and continuous inter-ethnic hatred and prejudice against those perceived as "others".
The official policies related to the wars of the nineties, defined by the Constitution and laws, as well as the Declaration on the Homeland War, view Croatia's role exclusively as defensive and liberating. This prevents recognition of the suffering and rights of war victims who are not ethnic Croats, and leads to biased educational programs that encourage nationalist attitudes instead of critical thinking, and glorify wars instead of peacemaking.
With the project "Young people remember the forgotten", we will create a new critical mass of young people who will be trained in knowledge, attitudes and skills for advocating responsible dealing with the past and implementing mechanisms of transitional justice. They will be a new generation of human rights advocates and watchdogs who will influence their peers and wider society through activism and continue to put pressure on institutions to responsibly deal with the past.
Program Impact4Values is co-funded by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.