Our history and track record
Nansen Dialogue Centre (NDC) Mostar is an independent non-governmental organization that encourages democratic practices and promotes dialogue among different ethnic, religious, political and interest groups, as a tool for prevention and resolution of conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NDC Mostar was initiated through an educational programme of the Nansen Academy in Lillehammer, Norway in 1995. In 2001, NDC Mostar registered as an independent local nongovernmental organization and it remains a member of the informal Nansen Dialogue Network. From the outset, NDC Mostar has operated in an extremely complex context shaped by the political climate and divisive media rhetoric. Founded after the war by local citizens striving to rebuild the social fabric of their city, NDC Mostar initially focused on providing a neutral space for people from different ethnicities to safely interact and dialogue, as well as on joint refurbishment projects.
As of 2008 the organization started to focus on fostering inclusive education in the Herzegovina region of the country, and especially those communities which are marked by the “two schools under one roof ” phenomenon, the most visible symbol of a segregated schooling system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than twenty years after the war, inter-ethnic relations in these communities remain fragile, with a high degree of mistrust, susceptibility to nationalistic manipulation and discriminatory provisions embedded in the institutional and legal framework.
Set against this background, NDC Mostar’s work has remained significantly relevant and needed, especially in the field of integrated education and social cohesion. To address the deteriorating quality of inter-ethnic relations and the systemic incentives for segregated education, NDC Mostar’s has already managed to:
- Develop and successfully test unique and feasible curricula for integrated education (Nansen Model of Education), which is the basis for regular extracurricular classes in 10 schools in the Herzegovina Neretva Canton
- Coach students, teachers and parents in implementing joint school-based and community activities
- Successfully implement more than 40 projects involving several thousand primary and secondary school students, teachers, school directors, local authorities and other interested actors in communities across Herzegovina
- Establish itself as a trusted peacebuilding actor, including through the establishment of strong relationships with local actors. The NDC Mostar team owes its success to the constructive and even-handed approach it has had to engaging various stakeholders in the education sector, resulting in the formal recognition through a memorandum of cooperation with the Cantonal Ministry of Education.
Since its inception, NDC Mostar premises have served as a neutral and open space where different actors can meet face-to-face in truthful and honest communication. This has generated numerous partnerships based on trust and expertise at various levels of government, but also with international donors and embassies, as well as schools directors, mayors, teachers, parents and students.