Building Trust Between National Minority Communities in Serbia project was initiated in May 2001, with the support of the Olof Palme International Centre from Stockholm (Sweden).

The outset of the project was the fact that the truth and reconciliation can only be reached through re-establishment of trust between national communities, since it has been seriously damaged in the war years.

The project was realized through round tables in five municipalities in Serbia – Novi Pazar, Dimitrovgrad, Šid, Zrenjanin and Subotica. These discussions showed that after the fall of the authoritarian regime in 2000 an organized and synchronized activity on the subject of reconciliation had not been conducted and that the presence of these problems was either marginalized or avoided. Namely, the presence of the great nationalist tension and lack of readiness of social and political actors to face the crimes and criminals, as well as with the necessity of imperative trust building was identified.

Conclusions from the round tables held in Novi Pazar (Serbs and Bošnjaks-Muslims), in Dimitrovgrads (Serbs and Bulgarians), in Šid (Serbs and Croats), in Zrenjanin (Serbs i Romanians), and in Subotica (Serbs and Hungarians) represent basis for the further development of this project.

Donor:
The Olof Palme International Center
Box 836, SE-101 36 Stockholm, Sweden
Web: www.palmecenter.se