General Information

The project "Speak up - Dialogues across Borders" is part of the peace work of the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy, which is registered as a non-profit association. The project originated as a humanitarian action in the early 1990s in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and has over time evolved into a dialogue and encounter project for youngsters and young adults from the Balkans and, from 2002 on, also for young adults from Palestine and
Israel. The Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy supported Peace groups and deserters from all sides during the war in the former Yugoslavia and raised money to support internally displaced persons. Upon arrival, volunteers of the Committee were struck by the difficult situation of the children in the camps: Many were hurt, traumatized and malnourished. They lived in crowded, unhygienic shelters. Klaus and Hanne Vack had the idea to offer these children two weeks of “Vacation from War”: in a nice surrounding, with good accommodation, healthy food and loving care. And they wanted the children to meet the children of the “Others”, who shared similar stories. So, in 1994, children came to the island of Hvar for a two weeks’ vacation. This was the birth of the then "Vacation from War - Dialogues across Borders Project. Since 2002, the project works with Youth and no longer with children. Through the project, the youngsters have the opportunity to maintain their cross-border friendships and they discuss and
reflect upon the violent past and the current political situation in their countries. Our partner organizations in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia founded network “Youth United in Peace” in 2014, which in 2016 was awarded the “Krunoslav Sukic Prize for the commitment to Peace, Non-Violence and Human Rights”. So far, in the Former Yugoslavia more than 23.000 children and youngsters had the chance to get to know each other, discuss and celebrate together. In the early 2000s, when the situation in Israel and Palestine culminated in the wake of the second Intifada, the project Speak up - Dialogues across Borders decided to extend its concept to another conflict zone and started working with partners from Israel and Palestine.

In 2023, the project changed its name into “Speak up – Dialogues across Borders”, in German “Wi.e.dersprechen – Dialoge über Grenzen hinweg”. In German, the new name is a play on words with the verb "to contradict" and the words "to speak again" and contains the projects’ most important elements. It is about talking to each other again in contexts in which all too often conflictual social and political issues of the past and present are tabooed or distorted and
charged with hostility in populist media and political opinion-making. Also, it is about hearing from the often downright demonized “others” in person, exchanging ideas, developing understanding and expressing one's own positions – in other words, to speak up (again) oneself. At the same time, the very decision to enter into political dialogue with the other sides is an act of contradiction, an act of resistance, and an act of political activism. It is an act of opposition against a political reality that only knows friends or enemies. Against perpetuating cycles of violence and populism, against the primacy of political-economic interests over peace and justice. Not least, it is a contradiction to and resistance against the stereotypical dehumanization
of the “others” and thus a reencounter with the “others” as persons with feelings, fears and hopes. This resistant counterpoint, which the dialogue encounters set, finds its continuation in the political activism of the participants, to which the encounters often motivate them. (...) In English, the slogan “Speak up”, while only a partial translation, intends to convey this same
idea. Today, Speak up - Dialogues across Borders – Dialogues across Borders enables dialogues between young people from war and crisis areas and exemplifies a way to practical peace work. A central principle of the project is that content-related work is largely designed and implemented by our local partners, whose expertise we value and trust. The project is financed
exclusively by private donations and donations from selected foundations. This makes the project independent of major institutional donors and also ensures its political independence.