DAYTON — NATO delegates are in Dayton to honor the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords which helped to end the war in the Balkans.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6, the main themes from Sunday’s sessions were bringing peace to hotspots around the world and bringing people together.
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NAACP of Ohio’s Vice Chairman Derrick Foward introduced a panel about keeping peace through cultural exchanges, especially through visual and performing arts.
Bosnian artist Edina Seleskovic said culture can bridge gaps between people and keep them from becoming enemies.
“Bosnia, for me, is not a country of war, it is a country of peace,” Seleskovic.
Debbie Blunden-Diggs, director of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company agreed.
“I think that art is the connective tissue of humanity, I think it is the thing we all, intrinsically, have in common,” Blunden-Diggs said.
Seleskovic said she was stuck in the US as a child when the war between Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia turned into a bloodbath. It went on for years and leveled entire cities.
“The places where men and boys would be separated from the women and children,” Ambassador and Moderator Tom McDonald, former US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, said. “The men and boys would often be shot, the towns were then burned out.”
In 1995, US diplomats gathered all parties in Dayton. Marathon negotiations ended with the Dayton Peace Accords, and they have lasted 30 years and allowed the countries to rebuild.
Sunday’s panelists say keeping peace means cultural exchanges through dance, art, sports and food, to let people know how much they have in common. NATO delegates agree that connections between people and nations will keep people safe.
Delegates have another full day of meetings and sessions planned for Memorial Day.
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