Call for proposals - Trauma, memory and healing in the Balkans and beyond

The TPO Foundation and its valued partners are pleased to invite proposals for the international conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be held from 12-14. July 2016, which seeks to create an interdisciplinary archive of knowledge and opportunities for healing memory and trauma in the Balkans and beyond.

In a region that has seen massive violence during three wars in the past century, the scars of trauma are deep and overlapping. Multiple memories are not simple stories of suffering; on the contrary, they play an important role in socio-political programs through competing narratives of victimization. From a historical perspective, the experience of pain and great loss that affects all parties in these armed conflicts and repressive regimes, it is clear that entire communities carry the pervasive impact of trauma in their anatomies and psyches, which requires recognition and healing. This reality, mixed with the instrumentalization of victim suffering, creates a social dynamic lack of trust, acceptance and empathy that is a condition for collective healing. This can lead to future conflicts, perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence and victimization. In order to initiate the process of recovery or detraumatization towards a more just, peaceful and stable society, society must first acknowledge the presence of its trauma. A social environment is needed that positively confirms the authenticity of individual trauma/victims, as well as the credibility of trauma narratives of groups.

This conference represents the joint effort of scientists and practitioners/activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad, across a wide range of scientific disciplines. The first goal of the conference is to create an archive of knowledge through thorough analysis for trauma healing work in the Balkans, which can serve as a basis for strategic recommendations for organizations and government agencies. By bringing together local and international expertise, another goal of the conference is to build a network of activists and scholars who share 'best practices for psychosocial trauma recovery and memory healing'.

Through these two goals, the conference hopes to secure more results. It seeks to produce (a) interdisciplinary learning that transcends regional group divisions, through questioning existing truths constructed by previous generations and expanding them into new possibilities for collective healing; another outcome (b) is to raise awareness of a pervasive aspect of post-war life: trauma-related circumstances that are constantly in flux, from local to global historical, economic, political and cultural realities. Furthermore, it seeks to (c) initiate the process of psychosocial healing and the re-empowerment of dignity as part of the healing process. Such healing requires public deliberation, conscious decision plus political will at all levels of society (government, local communities and individuals), common and critical reconsideration of the deeper roots of social trauma, as well as sharing experiences related to this phenomenon and expertise on their mechanisms. Finally, the conference will facilitate (d) the development of fair and harmless cultural memories, social solidarity and cooperation throughout the Balkan region. The role of non-Balkan scholars and practitioners is to connect thematic expertise and investments that will help this process through their comparative, external perspectives.

The conference will include a visit to Srebrenica and the Memorial Center in Potočari, as a local case study of the topics discussed at the conference.

We welcome proposals that explore any of the following (sub)topics: 

  1. Recognition and understanding of individual and collective trauma
  • Diagnosing individual and collective trauma: symptoms, descriptions, categories, reactions
  • Trans-generational traumas and the paradox of two-way cultural and national memory
  • Trauma stemming from sexual and gender-based violence
  • Collective trauma - causes and consequences
  • Moving beyond medicine: understanding trauma through alternative frameworks
  1. Politics of memory, selected trauma and strategies of memory
  • Instrumentalized memories and victimization
  • Foundational myths and selected traumas that construct social meaning
  • Imaginative projection of memory through narratives, symbols, images, memorials and commemorations.
  1. Healing, resilience and meaning
  • Personal testimony as a means of healing: facts and feeling
  • The relationship between personal and public healing - eg. how social and legal justice can provide or hinder clinical and personal healing.
  • Intersection between psychosocial trauma interventions and peacebuilding for healing and social change
  • Journalism and social media: from facilitating violence to advocating or facilitating a just peace
  • Conditions for healing: acknowledgment, mourning, apology, response, and reawakening of human dignity
  • Contextualized resources, strategies and practices for coping, resilience and recovery: religion, spirituality, rituals, symbols, etc.
  • Expressive arts and mind-body healing are critical elements to get out of the "blockage."

Application process

The deadline for submitting proposals is December 15, 2015. Proposals should include a title, an abstract (maximum 300 words) and a biography (maximum 300 words) and be sent to the e-mail addresses of Julianne Funk (juliannefunk5@gmail.com) and Jasmine Šarenkape (assist1@tpofond.org). Notification of accepted proposals will be published by January 31, 2016, and submission of complete papers is expected by May 15, 2016. The working languages ​​of the conference are English and BHS, so abstracts and papers can be submitted in English and BHS languages, with preference being given to sending papers in English.

The conference will be held from 12-14. July 2016 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A collection of the most outstanding conference papers will be compiled and edited after the conference for immediate publication.

Scientific Board & Partners 

Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Stanford University and TPO Foundation (organizer)

Julianne Funk, University of Zurich and TPO Foundation (organizer)

Barry Hart and Katie Mansfield, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University

Al B. Fuertes, New Century College / School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

Alisa Mahmutovic, University of Zenica

Richard Mollica, Harvard Refugee Trauma Program

Shelly Rambo, Boston University

Srdjan Sremac, Center for the Study of Living Religions, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vesna Teršelic, Documenta, Center for Facing the Past

Back To Top