Syndicate: Understanding the Balkans

["Melentie Pandilovski" <mpandil@soros.org.mk>]

Dear friends,
 
I would like to announce the Conference 
Understanding the Balkans. 
The Conference is to take place in the period 
October 13 - October 16, 2000 in Ohrid, Macedonia.
 

I would like to urge the interested to write to me 
on time so that we can send you the ENTRY FORM, and 
complete the 
entire procedure for attending the 
Conference.
 
Best regards,
 
Melentie
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UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANSOctober 13 - October 
16, 2000Hotel Belvi in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia
 
Organizer (organization and contact person): 
Contemporary Art Center - Skopje; Melentie Pandilovski - Director 
Tel/Fax: ++389.91.13.35.41Â Â Â  ++389.91.21.44.95Orce 
Nikolov 109, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedoniahttp://www.scca.org.mk  e-mail: misko@scca.org.mk
 
Aim:
 
The Conference UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS aims at 
examining the intersection of the acquired codesin the socio-cultural space 
of the Balkans over the past decades, at thesame time questioning and 
searching of new and common concordantstructures.
 
General Idea of the Conference:
 
The rapid changes that the countries of South-East 
Europe are confronted with make it a necessity and essential challenge to 
perform a certain "archaeological cut" through thedifferent heterogeneous 
layers of the Balkan region. Therefore theinternational Conference 
UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS is conceived as achallenge to examining the 
alteration stratum of the Balkansconcentrating strongly on questions of 
society, culture, art, andhistory. Reflections and analysis dedicated to 
these complex issues willbe examined during the Conference.
 
UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS will in this goal try to 
focus on examining the intersection of the acquired codesin the social, 
historical, cultural, we have used on the Balkans in ourimmediate past as 
well as in considering the changes through which oursocieties, and culture, 
are undergoing over the past decades. TheConference is especially interested 
in investigating the deeper reasonsfor on-going conflicts in the region. The 
Conference will focus onfinding ways of concordant common social, political 
and economicstructure to emerge in the new Balkan societies and thus 
admitting thateach region has its own specifics shall try to find a link 
connecting tothe cumulative cultural achievements of the past.
 
UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS is open to the 
investigating of substantially higher synergistic systems on theBalkans and 
will urge the creation of new visions of the artists,theoreticians, 
historians, sociologists, and philosophers and willconcentrate on finding a 
common platform in which the present historicand cultural gaps can be 
bypassed. Being conceived as an encounter ofartists, technologies and 
visionaries the Conference also welcomesvarious projects using information 
technology and different multi-mediaapplications, life sciences, 
etc.
 
Themes to be discussed: 
 
1. Codes Not Understood: Reasons and 
Consequences
 
2. Identities: Creation and Use
 
3. Mediated Images: Theory and 
Creation
 
4. Networks: New Quality or Redundant 
Accumulation 
 
The format of the Conference:UNDERSTANDING 
THE BALKANS is inviting 30 leading thinkers from the Balkan region as well as 
outside from it, covering a wide expertise (historians, sociologists, 
philosophers,scientists, culturologists, and artists).
 
Internet coverage:
 
a. Creation of a web site.The information about 
the Conference as well as a summary of the texts will be available on the web 
site.
 
b. The Conference UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS will be 
covered by video footage directly from the Conferenceon our web page, during 
the entire duration.
 
c. Creation of a mailing list. 
 
Proceedings:Â Â Â Â  
(November-December 2000)The proceedings will be published in English and 
Macedonian with a possible translation to the other Balkan languages. 

 
Deadline: The deadline for application is September 
15, 2000.
 
Other Information: All participants will be met at 
the bus station/train station/airport upon their arrival in Skopje. All 
participants will be provided with food and per diem.
 
--------------------------------------------------Contemporary 
Art Center - Skopje;Melentie Pandilovski - Director Tel/Fax: 
++389.91.13.35.41Â Â Â  ++389.91.21.44.95Mobile: 
+389.70.217.075,Orce Nikolov 109, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedoniahttp://www.scca.org.mk  e-mail: misko@scca.org.mk
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