Mirko Mag - 1st Kid`s festival

This event, which will last for seven days, will be
attended by children from all parts of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, for whom bus and train transport to
Sarajevo will be organized on a daily basis.
You too can take part in this, and have the opportunity to see the best movies and animated
films for young people from
the past two years, meet your
favourite local showbiz celebrities in person, participate in
many workshops, make a lot of
new friends and travel the
length and breadth of your country.
Apart from watching the daily
central event, the showing of the movie,
the children will also participate in various workshops concerning the promotion of human rights
and child protection, the anti-drug campaign,
protection from mines, campaigns for projects of
public interest, and exhibitions and other activities that have already been arranged with
domestic and international institutions, such as:
OSCE, the Goethe Institute, the City of Sarajevo,
the Sarajevo Drum Orchestra, School for Applied
Arts, Sarajevo, the SOS Kinderdorf, the Mladi
protiv side (Young People Against AIDS) organization, the International Womens' Club, the
Sarajevo Canton Court and many others.
The main goal of this event is to work on
mutual reconciliation between communities and build trust among children. That
is why SFOR is the main sponsor of THE
KIDS' FESTIVAL. You will also see Pin
and Gvin, the penguins you already
know well, who, together with MIRKO,
your favourite magazine, have prepared
many surprises for all the guests!
The expected daily attendance is over 3,000
children, from Sarajevo and towns throughout
BH. According to estimates, this festival will be
attended by 20,000 - 25,000 children.
Come and be a part of all of this. You can win
many prizes and have a positive experience that
will stay with you at least until the 2nd KIDS'
FESTIVAL.
Susanne Prahl-Landzo, who studied film making, was born in
Germany. Since 1994 she has lived in Sarajevo, where she
started a family. She first worked as the head of the Federal
Television's International Exchange Office, and then, from
1997 to 2004, she was the director of the Children's Program
of the Sarajevo Film Festival. Ms. Prahl-Landzo is the creative
force behind the idea to organize this new Kid's Festival - a cultural event dedicated to the children of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, which will be held annually in Sarajevo from this
year on. We asked Ms. Prahl-Landzo to tell all those who want
to come to the festival what they might expect from this event.
S. Prahl-Landzo: First of all, you will have a great time and participate in a festival that is like no other in the world. Second,
you will have the opportunity to feel like a part of Europe.
Because, as you know, Bosnia has been through a war, but
that is something that happened almost ten years ago. Still,
many parents reminisce about their time in the former
Yugoslavia and insist that they were better off then. They say
that the current situation is disastrous. But when you are fifteen or ten years old, it really doesn't help to hear that things
were better before the war. Five or ten years from now, Bosnia
and Herzegovina will be a part of Europe, so let's turn toward
Europe, come out of the tunnel and stop thinking about the
past. It is truly traumatic to live in a small village and see on
TV that it is the 21st century out there, and then come out of
your room and see that you don't have water, asphalt, a cinema, and that you are living in the Middle Ages. The Kids'
Festival is one day in your life when those two worlds - the one
you see on TV and the one you actually live - will merge into
one. You will feel like a member of a normal society, of
Europe, a modern person. Simply like a child among other
children. It is really important to bring children from secluded
areas here. I believe that that is more important than even
the idea of bringing children from the Republika Srpska and
Federation closer together - that problem is behind us already.
I believe that children from small villages are the highest priority right now. Those who come to the Kids' Festival will have
an unforgettable experience!
For one week, the City of Sarajevo will not
only be the capital of BiH - it will also be the
capital of the young. We from the EUPM are
certain, that this great event will provide
cheerful experience.
As a EUPM who is here to support and help
your police, we find it great that the police of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the police force
that is protecting your peace and order, is
involved in the Kid's Festival. Many police
officers from different parts of your country
will unite in their support to the Kid's Festival.
Furthermore, they will allow you to experience yourself the daily work of the police.
You will be able to ride in a real police car or
on a police motorcycle. Police dogs and their
trainers will be there for you and explain their
work. You can pat the animals, take photos
and ask whatever questions you may have.
And, who knows, may be you will decide in
the end to become a policeman or a policewoman? But until that might happen, we
from the EUPM, who come from 34 different
countries of the world and work together day
by day, wish you a fun time in Sarajevo. Enjoy
Kid's Festival 2004!
"Children will be safe!" - this
is the message which Nebojsa
Maric, a spokesperson for the combined
police force of the whole of BiH, has sent to
the children who decide to visit "Kids`
Festival". He told us: "The safety of the children is the reason why there has been great
cooperation between the Police from the
Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH
and the State Border Service. We will together organize safe transportation to the "Kids`
Festival" in Sarajevo for children from 77
towns and places in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
And in addition to guaranteeing safety, police
officers at the festival will be there for the
kids who might want to talk to them or hang
out with them. Moreover, all police officers
will have presents for the children. This way
of developing trust between the
police and citizens is quite normal in developed countries,
and this festival will be an
excellent opportunity to start
such a practice in BiH as
well."
MIRKO 71
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