In a historic gesture of reconciliation, the first ever Srebrenica Summer Camp took place this summer, with children from Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The festival's hosts, The House of Good Tones, had 80 children from the vicinity in attendance, while 85 children travelled to Srebrenica from throughout the region, coming from Niš, Novi Sad, Obrenovac, Paraćin, Vranje and Zagreb.
The artistic manager of The House of Good Tones, Ismar Porić, was proud to have been able to harmoniously bring together children from the countries of former Yugoslavia and classified the meeting as an important milestone in the development of the regional community:
This was a really historic event for Srebrenica and the region. We have proved once again that music can be used as a tool for reconciliation and better coexistence, bringing people from different countries and ethnic groups together and changing the whole community.
Photos of the summer camp
All photos courtesy of The House of Good Tones
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Alongside their own training teams, the children also benefitted from the attentions of the president and artistic director of the Vienna Boys' Choir, Gerald Wirth, who attended the camp, leading several rehearsals and conducting the final concert. The team in Srebrenica was very thankful to Mr Wirth for his engagement, emphasising how much the children had learnt from his sessions and how much they had enjoyed the rehearsals he had led.
Indeed, the organisers were keen stress the importance of bringing children from the different countries and cultures of the region together and ensuring that they had a good time. And, the camp's programme reflected this aim, offering not only an intensive schedule of music rehearsals but also activities such as group games, sports and horse riding.
Ismar Porić also emphasised the meeting's significance for Srebrenica per se and for the way that the town and its tragic past are perceived:
We will never forget what happened here in Srebrenica, but, by organising camps and concerts like this, we can show the world that there is still life in Srebrenica, with children who have dreams, hopes and ambitions like [children] everywhere else in the world.
Doraja Eberle from Bauern helfen Bauern was similarly hopeful about the impact that the The House of Good Tones project and occasions like the Srebrenica Summer Camp can have, expressing her desire for Srebrenica to one day distinguish itself more for its music and less for its past:
...my big hope is that, one day, when I leave Srebrenica, or, when I tell people in the world about Srebrenica, that they don't only connect it with genocide, but [that] they say "Ah, the best music school in Bosnia is in Srebrenica".
And, the camp was certainly a positive first step in this direction, having brought the children together, bridging the gap between cultures and nations and providing a friendly and supportive environment for intercultural dialogue, understanding, friendship and, of course, music.
Watch The House of Good Tones look back at the Srebrenica Summer Camp
The House of Good Tones, Music Art Project and SO DO wish to especially thank the Bauern helfen Bauern foundation and the Open Society Fund Bosnia & Herzegovina, without whose generosity this unique opportunity for reconciliation and mutual cooperation would not have been possible.
They also wish to emphasise that this is only the first of many future projects together and they encourage you to join them for the next stage of their common journey, as, under the name of El Sistema Balkans, young musicians from all of their programmes take to the stage at the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall in Zagreb on the 13th November.
Watch Moj dilbere, Zvijezda tjera Mjeseca being performed at the Srebrenica Summer Camp