By Maria van Wijnen
Before writing this blog post, I decided to reread all of my journal entries from Peace Lab and sit with the memories. It’s funny to read the first few journal entries, which are basically stressed scribbles where I go on and on about being worried about the test and the overwhelming amount of information. Further into the month, the writing transforms as I document our meetings and my key takeaways. There were stark differences between my emotions following each meeting. As soon as the Zoom call ended with NSI, a dense fog of despair seemed to flood the room. This was very different from the energy of the class after the meeting with Prime Minister Kurti, where we were talking over each other and brimming with excitement at having talked to such a high-ranking politician and now being able to unpack what was said. These contrasts are exactly what made the class so gripping and thought-provoking, as each class left me with so much to dissect.
One memory that sticks out to me now is hearing Elizabeth Gowing discuss how she started the Ideas Partnership. Maybe I am projecting my feelings onto my classmates, but I felt that we were hanging onto each word coming out of her mouth in a trance of awe. Any retelling of this story that I could attempt now would pale in comparison to her storytelling abilities. The organic and accidental way she became involved in the Ashkali, Roma, and Egyptian communities of Kosovo, and how she built this initiative from the ground up with such passion and care, was so inspiring to me. Other memories include talking to Kosovo 2.0, which reignited my love for Journalism. Before becoming the Social Science and international relations-focused student I am today, I was once a Humanities student at AUC, with the goal of pursuing journalism. This goal was crushed by fast-paced journalism and constant reminders that journalism is a very competitive field, which is also steadily declining in quality. I still don’t plan on pursuing journalism anymore, but the realisation that slow and good-quality journalism not only exists, but is respected and holds great impact, restored a sense of hope.
For the final project, my group and I decided to create a virtual museum designed to help people better understand Kosovo by exploring key themes like education, governance, dialogue, international engagement and peacebuilding. The museum starts in a lobby that sets the tone with maps, cultural images, a timeline of Kosovo’s history and an explanation of how and why we built this exhibit. Each room includes images and descriptions that break down complex issues, for example, a photo in the education room represents integrated schooling, a deeply debated topic in Kosovo today.
We focused on presenting multiple perspectives without overwhelming viewers, aiming for clarity while acknowledging nuance. I could write an entire paper including everything that we cover in the museum but what we’ve built is meant to be experienced. I really hope you take the time to visit our website and explore the virtual exhibition. Reading cannot replace an immersive and interactive engagement with the images, stories and layered realities that shape Kosovo. Walking through the museum allows you to move at your own pace, to sit with the tension between different perspectives, and to feel the weight of history alongside the hope and complexity of peacebuilding.
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(Our virtual exhibition from a bird's-eye view.) |
Our motivation for this project came from a mix of frustration, curiosity, and a sense of responsibility. Over the course of the semester, we kept hearing the same message from civil society groups, scholars and peacebuilders: Kosovo is often misunderstood, simplified, or completely ignored by the international community. That stuck with us. We felt like, since we were learning so much that we hadn’t known before, others might be just as unaware. I even admitted to my group members that before Peace Lab Kosovo, I was not sure that I could have decisively placed Kosovo on a map, nor did I have the slightest idea of its history.
As embarrassing as that feels to share, considering I am two years into a degree focusing on International relations, I can now feel proud of what our group has created. We didn’t want to claim authority after only a month of study; instead, we wanted to open a space where the complexity of Kosovo could speak for itself. That’s why we prioritised showing multiple viewpoints, viewpoints, even when they contradicted each other
Ultimately, we made this museum because we felt like the people we spoke to shared their time, their history, their passion and sometimes even their pain or frustration with us. The least we could do was try to pass that forward, hopeful that all we have learned can somehow reach others who might not know much about Kosovo but who are willing to listen, to learn and to see it in all its complexity and humanity.