Leo van Doesburg

This morning we went to the International Church. They meet once in the two weeks and sometimes three times a month. Their church services are held in a hotel not far the center of Belgrade. Samuilo led the sermon and had a message to the people. In the afternoon we had an interesting meeting with him and with a representative of the IFES (EUS). Later on a professor from the political faculty with a young but very intelligent student were joining too. We discussed about possible projects focused on reconciliation and vision building with students and participants from all countries and areas of former Yugoslavia. After this I was running for another meeting with the representati ves of the Serbian Christian Democratic Movement and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. We discussed about collaboration for trainings of the members of the SCDM and about other activities we develop in the region. I was invited to share my experiences about the development of Christian Democracy in East Europe du...

This morning we had a breakfast with some friends from the Economic Diplomacy Seminar/ROM and the Boris Trajkovski Foundation. We made the conclusions of our visit and we talked about the Youth Leadership Forum next week. Auke and me hope to be present there (what will be a kind of Balkan trip epilogue). After this we went to pack our stuff and to have our last stop in Belgrade (Serbia) before we would leave back home in Timişoara. The 17 days trip to the Balkans is almost finished but went smooth. Interesting thing in Macedonia is that there are a lot of toll roads where you have to pay amounts between the €0,50 and €1,-. It is quite cheap but you have to stop many times. I was tired so I slept through the border with Serbia and easily we reached Belgrade. The circle of our round trip was now closed. In Belgrade we had to search a bit but we found the hotel quite easily. Tomorrow will be the last day of our trip with the drive back to Timişoara.

In the late morning we were picked up by our friends from the Boris Trajkovski International Foundation. We were brought to the center where we would discuss a bit about the developments and the program during a brunch. When we walked through the center, I was surprised by all the new construction works since I have been here for the last time during the summer.According to one of our friends, they are constructing a kind of triumph arc, an enormous fountain where a big statue of Alexander the Great would be placed. Also a big museum is constructed in the form of a church on the remains of an ancient church found on that place. The construction of the museum caused some tensions because it is taken place within the walls of the old fortress. A group of activists came in the night to destroy the metal framework. Now the fortress is guarded by police to keep the protesters away. After the brunch we had a great meeting with the local and regional representative of the Bible Society. We di...

Today it was a special day for many, because three years ago, Kosovo declared itself independent with a 'declaration for independence'. Therefore the city was full with different flags: even with American and German flags and also concerts were organized in the cities. This morning I had together with Jetmir an appointment with a representative of the UNDP in Mitrovica to discuss about a project that we want to develop in Kosovo. The representative of the UNDP was interested in our project and gave a good feedback and ideas concerning the project proposal and was willing to be involved and to help to put this project on it's feet. Jetmir gave good and professional information. For him it was also a good experience on how you discuss and negotiate with representatives of international institutions. When th e meeting was finished we were picked up again and I found out that Auke and Annechien also spend their time well with a friend of Ruzhdi (who drove us around) who got a f...

Today I wanted to learn more about Pristina and it's surroundings. During my visit in December I learned a lot about the political, social and economic situation of Kosovo by the meetings with politicians, youth leaders and representatives of international institutions. Now I wanted to learn more about Pristina and its surroundings. Ruzhdi and his friend Jetmir from Macedonia showed us the most beautiful places in Pristina. They t old more about the places and their opinion about the sights. Although Pristina is a nice city also you could see the consequences of the war. There are a lot of people still missing. They were taken away from their homes. They were transported to unknown places and no-one heard from then since then. The many pictures of the persons that were missed were put on a fence close to there assembly building. At the other side from the road and further on you find interesting places like the old mosque, the central library and the new cathedral that is being bu...

A few hours later than expected but still early enough the car was fixed and as new (in any case from the inside because from the outside it still had tons of sand and dust, imported from all the countries we were traveling to). Ready to go! Arber escorted us through the city to the road that would lead in the direction of Kosovo. The trip went smoothly. The big tunnel and the highway made it pleasant to travel to the border and due to the new start motor the car was like flying on the street. At the border, a friendly member of the Dutch police working for the EULEX was greeting us in our own language (i.e. Dutch) and helped Auke who tried to find the right way to pay a special car insurance for Kosovo (for some reason the green card is not valid in the northern part of Cyprus, Iran and Kosovo). The border procedures went smoothly. It was interesting to see police agents from different countries checking the functioning off the customs. On their costumes by a small flag you could fin...

In the late morning we discussed the program of the day with Shaban. First we would have a walk in Tirana to show Auke and Annechien. After this I had a meeting with a representative of a political movement that is active to promote democrat ic values for the youth. It was very encouraging to see his professionalism and activities he is developing. Also he was very positive about th e 'Center for Dialogue and the promotion of European Values' and he also wants to be involved. After this we had a short meeting with the Albanian minister of foreign affairs to hear his opinion about the demonstrations that happened in January, to explain a bit about the ECPM and its involvement in Albania, the statement we made because concerning the events and the initiative for starting activities that we would like to develop in Albania. He was positive about our activities and about the work of Shaban and the development of his Center for Dialogue and promotion for European values'. Also h...

After packing our stuff Sinisa came and brought us to the road that would lead us to the border of Montenegro. It was a bad road but through beautiful nature. The border procedures went quickly and the first thing I saw was a goat that stood in the middle of the road probably checking all the foreigners that passed the Albanian border. We arrived on the road to Shkodra but because of all the constructions it was almost impossible to travel on it. Half on our way, Shaban our contact person was waiting for us with two cars with a local delegation from his party in Shkodra and Kop lik. They showed us the city, invited us for a coffee and brought us to the beautiful castle of Rozafa on a mountain overseeing the city of Shkodra. Also the museum showing the history of the city was very interesting. In the late afternoon we arrived in Tirana where after some hours of rest went to the office of Shaban and had a dinner with some representatives of the 'Center for Dialogue and Promotion of ...

This morning we had a meeting with our contact person Sinisa who discussed with us about the current situation in Montenegro. The situation is not that positive. Although the country is focusing to integra te in the European Union and is an official candidate for membership in the EU, there is a lot of corruption and individual interests that determine the Montenegrin political scene. Besides, the obtaining a legal status (citizenship) for people who are living for decades as refugees from other countries of former Yugoslavia is (still) problematic. The strange and unrealistic criteria and the bureaucracy are working against them. This has as consequence that thousands of people from different areas from different countries of former Yugoslavia are living in Montenegro for 12-15 years, but do not have a legal status as well as many people from the Roma background that did not receive any identity card. This is a significant number, because the official number of inhabitants of Montene...

This morning we woke up earlier, because we would have a long trip today. We left around 08:00 hrs from the hotel where we stayed. A great place only two tram-stops from the center of Zagreb. It was nice weather although still quite cold and the temperature showed minus 7 degrees. However the weather soon became warmer and the environment changed and so did the weather. We quickly reached the coast and while we in the beginning of the trip were walking on ice and snow, now it was nice spring weather with a clear blue sky (with a temperature of around plus 13 degrees! A difference of 20 degrees between t he morning we left and the afternoon. Together with the beautiful surroundings, I thought already about the summer. The road was good, and we stopped in Dubrovnik to see the panorama of the city. After Dubrovnik we had to leave the highway and it took a long time before we reached Kotor, a beautiful city on the coast in Montenegro where we had our dinner. After the dinner we went furthe...

This morning we had a great meeting with a political initiative group. I was impressed that we were working with the same contact persons in Brussels. Also I liked their motivations and recognize also the same basis as the ECPM. We agreed to work together on some concrete activities like courses and trainings. It was sad that also in Croatia there seemed to appear only two opinions about the European Union: either to be very Eurofile or to be very Europhobic. No-one seems to give an honest, well-balanced and objective information about the Croatian accession to the European Union. With the expected referendum in Croatia about it's accession, this ca n turn out to have a negative impact in their society. Also there is a lot of fear because of the continuously ungoing lobby coming from the West for liberalistic laws that are against basic Christian values like the protection of life, promoting family values based on traditional marriage while 80% of the population see themselves cath...

This morning I could sleep a bit longer, because the car was being fixed in the morning. It was not that bad to have a bit more time for myself. Around 13 hrs we could leave to Zagreb. The car was fixed. The ventilator in the engine was broken but now the car should not have any problems anymore. We had a smooth trip to Zagreb via the highway. In the meantime I was preparing the topics we would discuss in the evening. We arrived around 15:30 hrs in our hotel that was nice and established in the center. I took the tram to the city to have the first meeting. Auke remained in the hotel , because he was quite tired. Ofcourse he was tired of the traveling, but he also woke up early to take care that his car was fixed well. However when that was going ok, he had to fight with the Dutch national automobile club (ANWB). When he closed the agreement with the ANWB, they were quite nice, but now there were problems, they will pay this time but showed a hesitation to care for us for the rest of ou...

This would be the last day that we are in Sarajevo. In the morning we had a meeting in the national parliament with a former member of parliament. We explained about our activities and for possible ways to collaborate. After this meeting we had a 1,5 hr break where we visited the remains of a tower, enjoyed a panoramic view of Sarajevo and drank a Turkish coffee on the central square. After this we went to the philosophical faculty where we had an appointment with the dean and vice-dean. We had a good discussion about Christian Democracy within the Bosnian context. The faculty was very interested to collaborate also with the European Christian Political Foundation for developing analysis etc. on topics related to Christian Democracy. It was now early afternoon and we went back to the "Residence" hostel that became a kind of home for us. The owners (a very energetic Bosnian man of 68 who is running with the luggage on the stairs and his wife who worked before in a diplomatic f...

Today I had two important meetings. The first meeting was with the secretary of the International Fellowship for Evangelical Students (IFES, here called EUS) that took place in a well-managed office. It was good to see how the organization is operating. Their main activity is to organize English courses where also is discussed about how you can follow Jesus. They have active students and also a good collaboration with the Dutch and American branch of IFES. We discussed about possibilities to develop a project focused on reconciliation amongst Serbs, Croats and Bosnians and about other possible ways of collaboration. Also she gave me insight in the political situation of BiH and she gave me advises about key persons I should meet. It was also wonderful to be together with a fellow believer and follower of Jesus. It was good to pray together for our activities, for the situation in BiH, unity amongst the believers in the Balkans and for fruitful meetings during my trip in the Balkans. Af...

Today it was a day of rest and travel. In the morning we went for a coffee and a Serbian breakfast (we got Pleskavica with French fries) in a small cafeteria on the banks of the Danube river. When we finished, I showed Auke and Annechien the fortress. The park was nice, the weather great and the fortress looked more beautiful then I saw before because of the clear weather and sun, and the (probably) last snow of this winter. After this we went by car for the long trip to Sarajevo.After traveling through the city to find the right bridge (we almost went a bridge too far), we started a long trip. Auke found a shortcut so we passed Tuzla. We stopped there for a coffee and to eat something. I tried to contact some friends from the Wave project for a coffee, but they were unfortunately not in the city. It was actually not that bad, because after we left Tuzla we were confronted with a big fog and because it was dark, it was not easy to travel. However after a difficult road accompanied by t...

This morning we went to Pancevo where we met the leadership of the Alliance of Romanians in Vojvodina a p arty that became member of the ECPM. In an emotional discussion they explained the challenges of the Romanian minorities in Novi Sad and... the difficult relation they experience with the Romanian authorities in Bucharest.We discussed also about the relation between Novi Sad and the minorities and Belgrade. After a long discussion we agreed that a constructive and positive dialogue should be developed amongst the minorities and with Belgrade: not based on confrontation but based on dialogue and negotiation. In the afternoon we went to Belgrade and had a meeting with Dusica and the Serbian Christian Democratic Movement also a new member of the ECPM. It was good to speak with them and to hear that they already planned some trainings, investigating basic documents about Christian Democracy and different topics and formed already opinions on different actual issues. In the evening we ...

In the first two weeks of February, I'm travelling through the Balkans with Auke and Annechien. During this trip I will visit projects, will go on fact finding, meet collegues and friends etc. Day 1: Lenuca organized a meeting with the president and with a member of the Executive Board of the Assembly of the Municipality of Vrsat (resp for minorities and religious affairs)and with a deputy from the Provincial Assembly of Vojvodina. I discussed about ways how Vojvodina with many different minority groups can have a positive impact in the development of Serbia and its possible future accession to the EU. As a more autonomous province it would be good to work to construc...tively build up its local multi-etnical society based on the different minority groups that are living there, but also should become a positive motor for Serbia's possible future accession to the European Union.It is encouraging to hear that recently good laws were passed in the general assembly of Serbia concer...