UNMIK/FR/025/01
FEATURE RELEASE - 30 March, 2001

Cultural Project
Rehabilitation of the Mitrovica Cultural Centre: Giving a chance for culture to bridge troubled waters

Right now, the "zone of confidence" between north and south Mitrovica is more an eerie no-man's-land than a place of confidence. The barbed wire and armed troops guarding the Ibar riverbank give the area a cold war Berlin-feel. A bold new project, however, could soon bring culture and perhaps real confidence to the zone and maybe, just maybe, bring the communities together.

Situated a stone's throw from the now infamous bridge, the Mitrovica Cultural Centre was once a place where people gathered for cultural and social events. Since being heavily damaged during the war, however, the building has housed not cultural events and exhibitions, but rather French KFOR troops tasked with guarding the bridge and the surrounding vicinity. The Village Employment Rehabilitation Programme (VERP), a part of the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), decided that bringing the Cultural Centre back to life could provide the citizens of the divided city with a venue to re-establish cultural and social contacts with each other. With approximately a DM 500,000 raised by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Italy, and the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), VERP has supervised the transformation of the Centre from a dilapidated eyesore into a Cultural Centre worthy of a city the size of Mitrovica.

The project is both unique and very large scale for VERP. But considering the possibilities for both Albanians and Serbs to use the centre in the future, as it is in a secure location, VERP felt that it was a worthwhile undertaking, said Fred Frippiat, a United Nations Volunteer and VERP project manager. Over 200 VERP projects have been initiated throughout Kosovo covering needs in areas like reforestation, irrigation, rubble clearance and road repair. The rehabilitation of the Cultural Centre is the first project of this type undertaken here.

By providing temporary employment to about 10,000 people and rehabilitating a deteriorated social infrastructure, they also help to promote a sense of project ownership in local communities. Donors in Kosovo have learned that projects undertaken with community participation are more likely to be respected and maintained by those who live there after the initial work is completed.

In the spirit of the "zone of confidence," both Albanian and Serbian companies were contracted to do the work. Albanian workers undertook the civil works such as carpentry, fixing ceilings, resurfacing floors, replacing outdated plumbing, painting and installing windows. The Serbian workers undertook all of the electrical rewiring and heating works. Now, with the project almost completed, VERP will soon hand the building back to the Municipality. As Albanians and Serbs were able to build the Centre together, so too, it is hoped, they will feel comfortable using it together.

The Municipality of Mitrovica has grand plans for the future of the building and is currently looking for a business partner to help implement its ideas. The four-levelbuilding with large glass windows overlooking the Ibar boasts a large four-level high common area, a cinema and theatre hall with seating for approximately 400 people, two bar/café areas and a glass covered, domed reception room with a stage and parquet floor. Two substantial kitchen areas could be outfitted to provide meals for a large number of guests. Additionally, the centre contains offices and smaller reception rooms, as well as, plenty of wall space to hang and exhibit art works.

Svetlana Pencheva, in charge of Culture, Youth, Sports and NGO Coordinator Centre Affairs for the Mitrovica region sees the Cultural Centre as a multi-purpose facility that will provide training and display spaces for local artisans and serve as a venue for performers of all types. She also sees it as a commercially viable social centre for everyone in Mitrovica. While the building belongs to the Municipality, Ms Pencheva feels that many of the facilities contained within the premises could be leased through long-term contracts to a single investor, or several different investors, who would want to put parts of the facility to positive use. When opened, the cinema, which needs a new screen and whose old projectors probably need replacing, will be the only large cinema in Mitrovica. Properly managed, it could become profitable in a very short time, she believes. The same, or another, investor could also hire the spacious, domed reception area out for weddings and other large-scale celebrations. The kitchens need equipment and the rooms need tables and chairs, but with a long-term lease-it would be a worthwhile investment for interested parties.

The Centre's appeal stems not only from the monumental work executed during its rehabilitation, but from its location. However, few feel that the current mood in the city would facilitate the use of the Centre by both groups simultaneously, but a one-day Serbian, one-day Albanian policy could be implemented. Valon, a 24-year-old Albanian, is pessimistic about the current possibilities for the facility's use by both groups simultaneously. He feels that Serbs might shy away from using it at first, because the bridge still presents a psychological barrier. Asked whether it might become an Albanian Centre, he replied, "I don't believe UNMIK would allow that. Nor should that be allowed to happen." Valon also noted the difficulty, though not impossibility, of hiring a mixed staff to run the Centre.

Security for Serbs to feel safe to use the facility is still a major issue. Aleksander, a 21-year-old Serb, believes Serb use of the Centre is possible because of the security mechanisms are in place. Until the communities are ready to mix socially, KFOR soldiers will ensure that troublemakers from both sides are barred approaching near the facility while the other ethnic group is using it. "People are still afraid, but they will come-not so many at first, but if there are interesting programmes people will come," said Aleksander. He thinks some Serbs, possibly not Mitrovica Serbs, would be willing to work at the Centre if given the opportunity. As to future common use of the facility, Aleksander thinks that UNMIK workers from both groups could set the example as they work together every day. "If people could see that these people go for coffee or a drink together after work-perhaps their friends would sometimes appear."

Culture, Ms Pencheva said, can help bridge the gap between the two groups. She envisages exhibitions in the near future displaying the handicrafts and artwork of both groups in common areas. No one is naïve enough envisage members of both communities suddenly walking hand-in-hand across the bridge. Moderates on both sides, however, who realise that no river exists that cannot be crossed, can set an example for peaceful and fruitful relations between the citizens of a common city. After all, who would have thought a few years ago that Russian and American soldiers could work together on a peacekeeping mission?

Contact: D. Kahrmann
(038) 504 604 Ext. 5589
E-mail: Kahrmann@un.org