Velma Šarić
Post-Conflict Research Centre (PCRC) - Balkan Diskurs
Paul Lowe
Photographer - Professor, UAL
Ordinary Heroes
WARM Festival 2016
Skenderija Steel Bridge Sarajevo
26 June – 2 July 2016
During periods of moral collapse and genocide existed ordinary people who exhibited incredible courage and compassion to help others at their own risk. Their stories of rescue illustrate the power that love, self-sacrifice, and moral courage have in resisting overwhelming tides of prejudice and violence.
‘’Ordinary Heroes’’ photography exhibition consists of portraits and testimonies of rescuers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Holocaust. Portraits of the rescuers were taken by Paul Lowe, Mirko Pincelli, Leora Kahn, Nicolas Axelrod, Sonia Folkmann, and Riccardo Gangale.
The exhibition, done by the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) in partnership with PROOF: Media for Social Justice is a part of PCRC’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program. The Program aims to facilitate reconciliation, interethnic tolerance and understanding, and the restoration of intergroup relationships that can create an environment for sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the Western Balkans.
Over the past 3 years, the program has reached more than 5,000 people from over 17 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Turkey, Sweden, the USA, United Kingdom, Rwanda, the Netherlands, Italy, Costa Rica, Norway, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, France, Austria, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. The ‘’Ordinary Heroes’’ photography exhibition reached over 250,000 people.
About PCRC:
The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) is a Sarajevo-based NGO comprised of many people and experts, both volunteers and employees, who work together to cultivate an environment for sustainable peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Western Balkans using creative multimedia projects that foster tolerance, moral courage, mutual understanding, and positive change. PCRC was officially founded in May 2011 and has implemented a number of study abroad and student programs, conferences, and workshops focusing on the themes of peace building, genocide prevention, creative social media and reconciliation. PCRC’s mission is to provide the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the tools, skill sets, programs, and resources necessary to promote a sustainable reconciliation and peace among all ethnic, religious and political groups.
In September 2014, PCRC received personal recognition from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon when its Ordinary Heroes program was awarded 1st prize for the Intercultural Innovation Award given by the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. The program was selected from more than 600 applicants representing over 100 countries for its use of rescuer narratives as a tool for sustainable peacebuilding and intercultural understanding. The program was also selected as a result of its potential for expansion and replication in other parts of the world.