The KoneKtor – Philanthropy East Forum hosted its annual meeting on ‘Peace, Justice and the Promise of Democracy – What Did We (Not) Learn?’ on 24-26 September in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, hosted by the Mozaik Foundation.

Times of uncertainty and increasing unpredictability, in the face of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have more than ever displayed the key role civil society organisations and communities play in building peace, ensuring justice, and defending democracy and democratic values.

Creating a space to learn, reflect and connect, participants explored new horizons for peace, justice, and democracy, and the role of foundations in supporting the activists, civil society organisations and communities that serve our societies.

Conference report

Peace, Justice and the Promise of Democracy – What did we (not) learn?

Shafi Musaddique, Alliance magazine

Over three decades have elapsed since the break up of Yugoslavia, and the subsequent fragmentation of the Balkans amidst violence and war. Since then, many of Sarajevo’s buildings have been rebuilt. Among them is the breath-taking Sarajevo City Hall – once a library hall burned to the ground, now re-established with stained glass ceiling and Ottoman style pillars. It was here that the Konektor Philanthropy East Forum, dubbed “Peace, Justice and the Promise of Democracy – What Did We (Not) Learn?” was held.  

Such symbolism couldn’t be missed here. An apt backdrop to this year’s Konektor conference on various ways on how philanthropy can aid peace building. Sarajevo constantly gives reminders that in healing, it’s not just the buildings that need repairing. Read more…

Interview

Dimitry Kochenov, legal professor at the Central European University, on philanthropy and rule of law

Dimitry Kochenov

‘There is not enough funding probably for hands-on projects which involve the use of law in order to push back against attacks against the rule of law, attacks against democracies. I see democracy as interlinking all over the world, because without legal constraints on what elected leaders can do, it’s impossible to ensure that democracy continues as a rotational system, are it where, or to understand how it will be abused.’

Alliance sat down with Dimitry Kochenov, legal professor at the Central European University, on the sidelines of Konektor 2023 in Sarajevo. Here, we delve into the threats to the rule of law, how philanthropy plugs the gap and the recent failures of funders to back human rights. Read more…

Readers poll winner

Embracing vulnerability through the arts

Shafi Musaddique, Alliance magazine

This session at Konektor gave the audience an eye-opening look at how funding the arts is essential before, and after, conflict. The panel convened at a time when major funders have pulled out of the region, particularly long-time donors of democratic values and the arts.

Boro Kontic. Director of Medis Center Sarajevo, used to be a radio journalist when the war started. By 1992, public broadcast radio in Bosnia had only one programme, losing the array of diverse programming available before the war. Read more…

Reflections from delegates and speakers

Youth, democracy and the weight of expectation

Nils Luyten Philea

With the scars of the war all around, Sarajevo was a symbolic location for KoneKtor 2023. Bringing together a diverse crowd of Central and Eastern European funders and civil society actors, it was the perfect place to ask the question: have we (not) learnt any lessons? Has the region really advanced towards peace, justice, and democracy, or are we in danger of repeating our past mistakes? Read more…