Cultural and Educational Exchange in Post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

This chapter focusses on experiences with and perspectives on cultural and educational exchange at the secondary school level between rival communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Although 20 years have passed since the country's 1992-1995 war, the majority of BiH children and youth are still socialised in mono-ethnic schools using ethnically biased curricula that increase their vulnerability to interethnic prejudice and divisive political ideologies. Conceptualising cultural and educational exchange within Novelli, Lopes Cardozo and Smith's framework known as the `4Rs' of sustainable and just peace (i.e. recognition, redistribution, representation and reconciliation), I examine the strengths and limitations of exchange for improving interethnic relations in this post-conflict society. The chapter draws on empirical data collected in 2014 from 60 semi-structured interviews with international and state education authorities, university and NGO teacher educators, secondary school directors and social science teachers, as well as from focus groups with 60 students aged 16-18 years at five secondary schools, in the cities of Banja Luka, Sarajevo and Mostar. Interviewees identified various positive and negative impacts of cultural and education exchange in the BiH context. The chapter discusses three of the perceived benefits-economic and civic advancement, critical reflexivity and intergroup peacebuilding-as well as three perceived risks-'brain drain', peacebuilding elitism and misrepresentation of contemporary conflict drivers. In the BiH context, exchange initiatives are found to address one or another, but rarely all, of the `4Rs'. The chapter concludes that in order to contribute more effectively to positive relations between rivals, strategic efforts must be made to incorporate all of the `4Rs' into exchange agendas and practices.