ZaMirNET
Encyclopedia
ZaMirNET is a Croatia-based non-governmental organisation working in the field of ICT (information and communication technology). It describes itself as "a citizen association (not-for-profit organization) dedicated toward civil society development, promoting the culture of peace and the idea of sustainable development in Croatia and the region."
and Belgrade
, almost exactly a year after Croatia
seceded from Yugoslavia
, triggering a brutal response from Serbia
.
This venture got the support of the George Soros
-funded Open Society Institute
, and US peace activist Eric Bachman, living in Europe
since 1969, together with the Dutch peace activist Wam Kat
(who wrote his daily "Zagreb Dairy" on Zamir), set up an electronic network between peace groups in the region. It was named ZaMir ("For Peace") Transnational Net.
A research work titled Documenting the impact of the community peacebuilding practices in the post-Yugoslav region as a basis for policy framework development conducted by Ms. Marina Škrabalo, an activist of the Centre for Peace Studies, Croatia
, provides some details.
It says: "(The) initial steps to enable communication among emerging peace groups separated by the lines of conflict took place in October 1991, when an improvised fax relay system was set up, with the help of international solidarity organizations such as War Resisters International (WRI) and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
(IFOR) that acted as intermediaries and dispatchers of messages. A turning point was early 1992 when the Communications Aid project for the people in former Yugoslavia
was launched by foreign peace groups together with the Center for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence in Ljubljana
, the Anti-War Campaign of Zagreb
and the Center for Anti-war Action in Belgrade
, with the objective of setting up an alternative electronic mail system (bulletin board system
or BBS) that could work on poor quality telephone lines and simple computers, the only available ICT resources at that time in the war-stricken post-Yugoslav region.
(IPPNW) in the former Yugoslavia
for a "trust link" between the conflicting sides.) It is being enlarged to enable humanitarian aid groups, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), educational institutions and others to use the network. Additionally it can, for example, provided the basis of a communication network to help refugees and displaced persons to find each other."
Marina Škrabalo's research says: "In February/March 1994, ZaMir servers were installed in Ljubljana
and besieged Sarajevo
, followed by the set up of the Priština
server ZANA
, administered by the independent newspaper Koha
in October 1994. The network was considerably improved in spring 1995, when the Zagreb
, Sarajevo
and Belgrade
servers were enlarged and a new server, with direct international telephone access was installed in Tuzla
".
The impact of ZTN on the development and sustainability of the post-Yugoslav peace movement during the most intense war period from 1992 until the signing of Dayton agreement
in November 1995 is considered by some to be significant.
Two international volunteers, Kathryn Turnipseed and Cecilia Hansen, under a project name “Electronic Witches”, created the first ZTN training manual for women-users ensuring that gender specific barriers to use of ICT would be overcome in the trainings they delivered to hundreds of women activists throughout Croatia
, Serbia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
As the intense war period in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Croatia
passed, the telephone lines and direct Internet access became more viable, ZTN did not manage to achieve its goal of adjusting its system to more advanced technology, due to lack of resources and weariness of the core groups of volunteers who
kept it going during the difficult war years.
Several web-based networking and media outlets have in the meantime emerged in the post-Yugoslav region -- such as Ljudmila, Kontrapunkt, out of which ZaMirNET in Zagreb
has built on -- in terms of values, activist networks and human resources of ZTN.
, Croatia
with a staff of around six. Until 2004, ZaMirNet had several local offices in war affected areas of Croatia
.
Current program areas include:
It is a member of the Association for Progressive Communications
, and sees itself as being "dedicated to the promotion of civil society and its values through ICT and the development of new media
initiatives".
Recently (2004), it was involved with a media-project called ZaMirZINE -- an electronic news magazine specialising in themes related to civil society. This interactive e-journal, was aimed at serving as a media outlet for a situation of otherwise scarce news on youth, peace-building, women's rights, gay and lesbian issues, environment and independent cultural initiatives. It combined articles with columns on national, regional and international events of relevance to human rights, social and economic justice and peace. ZaMirZINE is based on cooperation and knowledge-transfer between activists, young journalists and established journalists. ZaMirZINE was voted the best Croatian electronic zine of the year 2004 by the PC Chip, a magazine focused on ICT.
Through its MEDIAnet project, launched in 2004 too, ZaMirNET says it aims to encourage and facilitate the establishment of locally-based independent media in Croatia and the neighbouring countries -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. NGOs, through this project, are supported to expand their outreach and communication strategies to the media -- including via community-based, alternative, and internet-based media outlets.
ZaMirNET says its research indicates that the mainstream media "tend to represent civil society organisations with a sensationalist and sometimes biased perspectives". On the other hand, it also notes that NGO members tend to lack journalistic skills to systematically report news about their sector "in a professional way".
ZaMirNET believes its ZaMirZINE could offer an inclusive media environment, based on a "knowledge transfer between activists, young journalists and established journalists".
ZaMirNET's governing board is composed of Vatroslav Zovko, Srđan Dvornik, Davor Gjenero, Predrag Bejaković and Nebojša Gavrilov. ZaMirNET currently puts its active members at 13.
Roots
AdvocacyNet.org describes its formation during the turmoil in the former Yugoslavia. It says, "Electronic information became an instrument of war and peace during the collapse of Yugoslavia." Amidst the "worst crimes committed in Europe this century" the first major experiment in email was launched in June 1992 in ZagrebZagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, almost exactly a year after Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
seceded from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, triggering a brutal response from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
This venture got the support of the George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
-funded Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
, and US peace activist Eric Bachman, living in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
since 1969, together with the Dutch peace activist Wam Kat
Wam Kat
Pieter Jan Herman Fredrik Kat is a Dutch political activist and author who now lives in Germany and serves in the city government of Belzig.-Biography:...
(who wrote his daily "Zagreb Dairy" on Zamir), set up an electronic network between peace groups in the region. It was named ZaMir ("For Peace") Transnational Net.
A research work titled Documenting the impact of the community peacebuilding practices in the post-Yugoslav region as a basis for policy framework development conducted by Ms. Marina Škrabalo, an activist of the Centre for Peace Studies, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, provides some details.
It says: "(The) initial steps to enable communication among emerging peace groups separated by the lines of conflict took place in October 1991, when an improvised fax relay system was set up, with the help of international solidarity organizations such as War Resisters International (WRI) and the International Fellowship of Reconciliation
International Fellowship of Reconciliation
The International Fellowship of Reconciliation is an international faith-based nonviolent movement created shortly after the First World War, in 1919, to draw together national Fellowships of Reconciliation that had been founded during the war....
(IFOR) that acted as intermediaries and dispatchers of messages. A turning point was early 1992 when the Communications Aid project for the people in former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
was launched by foreign peace groups together with the Center for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, the Anti-War Campaign of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
and the Center for Anti-war Action in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, with the objective of setting up an alternative electronic mail system (bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
or BBS) that could work on poor quality telephone lines and simple computers, the only available ICT resources at that time in the war-stricken post-Yugoslav region.
"Trust link"
FoeBuD e.V. says that "The Communications Aid is not only for an exchange of letters, messages, news and ideas among the peace groups, but it is helping people from both sides of the conflict begin to communicate again with each other. (This idea was first expressed in a proposal of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear WarInternational Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries, representing tens of thousands of doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned citizens who share the common goal of creating a more peaceful and secure world freed from the threat of nuclear annihilation...
(IPPNW) in the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
for a "trust link" between the conflicting sides.) It is being enlarged to enable humanitarian aid groups, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), educational institutions and others to use the network. Additionally it can, for example, provided the basis of a communication network to help refugees and displaced persons to find each other."
Marina Škrabalo's research says: "In February/March 1994, ZaMir servers were installed in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and besieged Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, followed by the set up of the Priština
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
server ZANA
Zâna
Zână is the Romanian equivalent of the Greek Charites. They are the opposite of monsters like Muma Padurii. These characters make positive appearances in fairy tales and reside mostly in the woods...
, administered by the independent newspaper Koha
Koha
Koha may refer to:* Koha , a New Zealand Māori custom of gift giving* Koha , an open-source integrated library system* Koharu Kusumi, a Japanese pop singer...
in October 1994. The network was considerably improved in spring 1995, when the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
and Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
servers were enlarged and a new server, with direct international telephone access was installed in Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
".
The impact of ZTN on the development and sustainability of the post-Yugoslav peace movement during the most intense war period from 1992 until the signing of Dayton agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
in November 1995 is considered by some to be significant.
Peace, human rights activists and journalists
This network connected and provided training and technical support to more than 1700 peace, human rights and humanitarian workers and independent journalists from all the countries in war, including dozens of local and international NGOs that used this communication channel to assist in the search for the missing persons and tracing relatives stuck in war zones, plan joint peace-building projects, political campaigns and send out independent news reports and access more than 150 regional and international news conferences.Two international volunteers, Kathryn Turnipseed and Cecilia Hansen, under a project name “Electronic Witches”, created the first ZTN training manual for women-users ensuring that gender specific barriers to use of ICT would be overcome in the trainings they delivered to hundreds of women activists throughout Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
As the intense war period in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
passed, the telephone lines and direct Internet access became more viable, ZTN did not manage to achieve its goal of adjusting its system to more advanced technology, due to lack of resources and weariness of the core groups of volunteers who
kept it going during the difficult war years.
Several web-based networking and media outlets have in the meantime emerged in the post-Yugoslav region -- such as Ljudmila, Kontrapunkt, out of which ZaMirNET in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
has built on -- in terms of values, activist networks and human resources of ZTN.
Current operations
ZaMirNet has an office in ZagrebZagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
with a staff of around six. Until 2004, ZaMirNet had several local offices in war affected areas of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
.
Current program areas include:
- Strategic use of ICTs
- Education
- Networking
- Independent media initiatives
It is a member of the Association for Progressive Communications
Association for Progressive Communications
The Association for Progressive Communications is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, human rights, protection of the environment, and...
, and sees itself as being "dedicated to the promotion of civil society and its values through ICT and the development of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
initiatives".
Recently (2004), it was involved with a media-project called ZaMirZINE -- an electronic news magazine specialising in themes related to civil society. This interactive e-journal, was aimed at serving as a media outlet for a situation of otherwise scarce news on youth, peace-building, women's rights, gay and lesbian issues, environment and independent cultural initiatives. It combined articles with columns on national, regional and international events of relevance to human rights, social and economic justice and peace. ZaMirZINE is based on cooperation and knowledge-transfer between activists, young journalists and established journalists. ZaMirZINE was voted the best Croatian electronic zine of the year 2004 by the PC Chip, a magazine focused on ICT.
Through its MEDIAnet project, launched in 2004 too, ZaMirNET says it aims to encourage and facilitate the establishment of locally-based independent media in Croatia and the neighbouring countries -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. NGOs, through this project, are supported to expand their outreach and communication strategies to the media -- including via community-based, alternative, and internet-based media outlets.
ZaMirNET says its research indicates that the mainstream media "tend to represent civil society organisations with a sensationalist and sometimes biased perspectives". On the other hand, it also notes that NGO members tend to lack journalistic skills to systematically report news about their sector "in a professional way".
ZaMirNET believes its ZaMirZINE could offer an inclusive media environment, based on a "knowledge transfer between activists, young journalists and established journalists".
ZaMirNET team
Currently, the ZaMirNET's team includes Ms. Danijela Babić (executive director), Ms. Sonja Ludvig (editor-in-chief, ZaMirZINE - online newspaper for civil society and urban culture), Ms. Gabrijela Ivanov (project manager, national ICT policy monitoring project), Mr. Savo Orozović (finance officer), Mr. Ivan Capan (ICT officer and server admin), Ms. Sunčana Špriovan (web and graphic design).ZaMirNET's governing board is composed of Vatroslav Zovko, Srđan Dvornik, Davor Gjenero, Predrag Bejaković and Nebojša Gavrilov. ZaMirNET currently puts its active members at 13.