tw logo ln logo

Erasmus+ summer school Peacemaking in everyday life


The first summer school at Alma Mater Europaea – ISH, which took place in the last week of June 2023, was based on the vision for a permanent peaceful coexistence of the civilization.

The central theme was creating peace in everyday life: resolving interpersonal conflicts, dealing with unjust institutional procedures, and attitudes towards structurally discriminated social groups and individuals, which are analytically defined by intersections of social divisions. The emphasis was on migration, global political-economic trends, and power relations formed in knowledge and ignorance. In addition, the focus was on cultural trends of global dimensions and crisis situations, which are perceived through socio-political events.

The summer school was organized as a Blended Intensive Program in the framework of Erasmus+.  The participants were students from partner universities AMEU – ISH from Poland, Portugal, Croatia and lecturers from Portugal, Turkey, Poland, and Slovenia.

Dr. Renata Šribar, the head of the summer school, lectured on conceptual "tools" and various research approaches when conducting anthropological research, especially fieldwork. In this context, she reminded the students about the importance of ethical and responsible science, an essential criterion regarding the adequacy of research methods and personal engagement.

"The more we understand other cultures, the more effectively we can work and understand each other, i.e., we contribute to the establishment of peace," pointed out Dr. Anna Bakiewicz, stressing the importance of personal engagement in understanding and dealing with interculturality. In her presentation, she demonstrated the possibilities of good cooperation in a multicultural community, where she introduced the basic rules of understanding, planning, and behavior when working in intersections between different national cultures.

During the fieldwork in Ljubljana, the students observed the local population in the center of Ljubljana, visited Slovenian philanthropy and the Office of Ombudsman, Center for Human Rights, where they discussed the duties of the Ombudsman, his social role and work in the field of migration in the with the analyst Miha Nabergoj.

The summer school participants met Irena Woelle, a Slovenian art director, graphic designer, environmentalist, and civic activist in the Tivoli city park. After the introductory lecture, they discussed Slovenian and Polish civil society and its antagonisms from an ethical point of view.

In the continuation of the school in Slovenian Istria, the students first attended a workshop on community and personal conflict resolution, which was led by a theater actor and integrative therapist Žan Perko, followed by technical workshops on recording research and its implementation with mobile phones, led by a video artist and professor M.Sc. Miha Vipotnik.

The summer school ended with an interesting discussion in a focus group, which was upgraded with minimalist performative inputs and a summary of the newly acquired knowledge and the exchange of experiences between the participants.