Category: Action Research

Serbia between East and West

Topic and Content:  Visit to Park of Friendship, the only memorial dedicated to Non-Aligned Movement and reflection on political position of the Socialistic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Cold War Era

Park of Friendship (Park prijateljstva) is situated in New Belgrade and spreads across 14 hectares that are leaning on banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers. Park was created in 1961 and it was dedicated to a newly organized Non-Aligned Movement. In central area lies Peace Alley with 26 plane trees planted by presidents of non-aligned countries and a sculpture of a flower made by sculptor Lidija Mišić.

During Tito’s rule, many presidents and official political leaders planted a tree as a sign of friendship. Among them were Indira Gandhi, Richard Nixon, Queen Elisabeth II and many others. Serbia continued this tradition until today. Members of the Rolling Stones were among the last one to plant a tree here in 2008 when they held concert in this park. In the midst of this park stands monument called Eternal Fire that was dedicated to victims of NATO bombing, erected in 1999.

Park prijateljstva is occasionally used for various culture events including concerts and Beer Fest that is held every August.

Source: http://www.belgradian.com/green-belgrade/park-of-friendship

Target group: Participants of different age, gender, educational and social background

Pedagogical goal and methodology: Research action method would help participants to gather information and reflections on politics of Yugoslav socialist society during the Cold War Era and later implications of this politics. Park dedicated to Non-aligned movement and aimed neutral political position of Tito’s Yugoslavia with later added monument to the victims of NATO bombing in 1999 provides an extraordinary framework for analyses of socio-political history and its impact on everyday life. Participation of people with different backgrounds and experiences would improve understanding of different perspectives in former Yugoslavia.

Evaluation: Not sure about methodology; any suggestions are welcome

Agreements with local partners: Contacting a group of friend (maybe my students, participants from other organization or other visitors of Park)

Timetables and milestones:

May – Contacticng participants/partners

– Arranging the visit

June -Visit and evaluation

          – Reporting on the project

 

Action research in Berlin

On our second day of the training 7 action research groups started exploring the city – visiting memorial sites (the one visible and the ones not so visible), interviewing passers-by, examining different perspectives on the cold war era in Berlin.

Here are some impressions from our activities and some puzzle pieces of the topography of remembrance in this city.

Group 1 – The Airlift Memorial & the Museum of Allies

Group 2 – Stasi Prison Hohenschönhausen

Group 3 – The Stasi Museum, Memorial to the 17. June 1953 Uprising, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Mural

>>> Download: Presentation of Group 3 (PDF)

Group 4 – City Centre West


>>> Download: Presentation of Group 4

Group 5 – Checkpoint Charlie

>>> Download: Presentation of Group 5

Group 6 – German Russion Museum Karlshorst

>>> Download: Presentation of Group 6 (PDF)

Group 7 – Around Alexanderplatz / City East

Searching for the Matrix – action resarch in Berlin

Moonrise_Kingdom
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson (USA, 2012)

Today it was a day full of activities!

In the morning, Marina presented some methods for deconstruction narratives and perspectives in the public discourse. She gave us a very interesting input regarding how we perceived the surrenders and especially how history is told or not told around us. Museums and memorials in our cities are important to analysed and deconstruction in order to understand what story is being told behind them.

Which GAZE?

In the afternoon we went so several memorial places in Berlin, we visited them and we analyses exactly how history is delivered in this places. We also analysed where are they located and how are they related to the city, to the visitors and their curators.

My group went to visit Checkpoint Charlie where we visited the Yadegar Asisi’s Panorama and the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie,  the museum founded by human rights activist Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt.

We were differet groups all of us visted various places including the Stasi Museum and Prisons, the DDR Museum, Treptower Park, The Refugees Musuem in Berlin and the TV Tower in Alexander Platz.

The Panaroama Asisi is a 1:1 installation that portrays the divided Berlin and allows visitors to “walk” by the old wall. You can have a and that portrays the divided Berlin. You can have an idea on how it looks like in the next two videos.

In the ‘eighties I lived on and with the Wall in the Kreuzberg district. The Panorama gathers together my own experiences and recounts to the observer stories which are rich in detail, and which would not have happened all at the same time. The many scenes from everyday life in the images presented by the Panorama show how the population came to terms with the situation and circumstances.” (Yadegar Asisi on his creation – source asisi.de)