The art of making peace in Sarajevo
- 10 years ago
In a town famous for the horrors of war, an exhibition to show the beauty of peace is taking place.
As Sarajevo commemorates 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, the International Peace Bureau have organised the ‘Making Peace’ exhibition to ensure the next generation aren’t condemned to repeating the mistakes of the past.
“For the people of Sarajevo war is still present in their minds, and you can see it in the buildings and in the whole atmosphere,” explains Colin Archer from the International Peace Bureau. “But you know Sarajevo is changing and peace is coming, and Making Peace is an attempt to turn the page, and to try to move and and to say that ordinary people can really contribute to make the world a better place,” he concluded.
The exhibition defines five points of action: disarmament, conflict resolution, social justice, human rights and sustainable development.
The exhibiton was curated by Magnum photographer Ashley Woods includes some of the most iconic anti-war photos, which clearly had an effect on the visitors.
“It is a wonderful thing to see these really powerful pictures, some of them are so heartbreaking, it is really fantastic to have them all collected like this,” sad one man visiting from Sweden.
“This is very typical thinking about how we behave nowadays, we can sometimes forget about that we are like this, but these pictures make us think about it,” said one woman from Croatia.
In recorded history wars have killed almost four billion people, almost a third of today’s population. Military budgets instead of being slashed are often increasing, and the price paid for peace is civilian lives.
“Making peace is up to you – says the sign on the mirror which closes the exhibition. And this is extremely important here in Sarajevo. What happened here exactly 100 years ago changed the whole history of Europe,” Euronews correspondent Andrea Hajagos
summed up.
As Sarajevo commemorates 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War, the International Peace Bureau have organised the ‘Making Peace’ exhibition to ensure the next generation aren’t condemned to repeating the mistakes of the past.
“For the people of Sarajevo war is still present in their minds, and you can see it in the buildings and in the whole atmosphere,” explains Colin Archer from the International Peace Bureau. “But you know Sarajevo is changing and peace is coming, and Making Peace is an attempt to turn the page, and to try to move and and to say that ordinary people can really contribute to make the world a better place,” he concluded.
The exhibition defines five points of action: disarmament, conflict resolution, social justice, human rights and sustainable development.
The exhibiton was curated by Magnum photographer Ashley Woods includes some of the most iconic anti-war photos, which clearly had an effect on the visitors.
“It is a wonderful thing to see these really powerful pictures, some of them are so heartbreaking, it is really fantastic to have them all collected like this,” sad one man visiting from Sweden.
“This is very typical thinking about how we behave nowadays, we can sometimes forget about that we are like this, but these pictures make us think about it,” said one woman from Croatia.
In recorded history wars have killed almost four billion people, almost a third of today’s population. Military budgets instead of being slashed are often increasing, and the price paid for peace is civilian lives.
“Making peace is up to you – says the sign on the mirror which closes the exhibition. And this is extremely important here in Sarajevo. What happened here exactly 100 years ago changed the whole history of Europe,” Euronews correspondent Andrea Hajagos
summed up.