An Example of Cooperation in South Eastern Europe

Lilia Ratcheva-Stratieva

My experience lies primarily in the field of literature – literature for children and young people, to be precise. I am convinced that cultural education should begin at a very early age.

It is possible to teach very young children not only about their own culture but also about other cultures. For this reason, regional and international cooperation for children and young people is, in my opinion, of great importance.
I should like to briefly introduce a project that reflects various aspects of cooperation in the area of literature for children and young people in South Eastern Europe:
In the course of history, there have been a number of conflicts between the countries of South Eastern Europe, including several particularly serious ones in the last 20 years. It is precisely for this reason that we, the Institut für Jugendliteratur (Institute for Literature for Children and Young People) in Vienna, together with a district in Sofia, applied for European support for the project “South-East European Centre of Literature and Media for Children and Young People”. Our institute donated 3000 books in 29 languages to establish a library in Sofia. An international jury awarded prizes for children’s and young people’s literature from South Eastern Europe. A literature festival was organised, with 20 participants (authors and illustrators) from 10 countries of South Eastern Europe plus Austria and Poland. And a theoretic journal, “Äolus”, was published in two – in some issues, in three – languages. The carousel of cooperation is thus in motion.
I should also like to mention several obstacles that we encountered in the course of our work. These included, above all, certain stereotypes and barriers that tend to arise in people’s minds and impede the further development of cooperation. Historical conflicts, as well as new ones, are still putting a strain on many institutions, particularly in the Western Balkan countries.
When artists come together, however, the situation is completely different, because they speak the language of the arts and understand each other well.
The important thing is to give young people the chance to understand others from beyond their own borders and to show them that these people are not really different.