18 doctoral students and future politicians from the Hanns Seidel Stiftung Foundation visited the City Hall and the Sarajevo Information Centre

18 doctoral students and future politicians from the Hanns Seidel Stiftung Foundation visited the City Hall (Vijećnica) and the Sarajevo Information Centre.

After touring the City Hall, the guests had the opportunity to learn about its rich history—an architectural gem built in the pseudo-Moorish style. As a symbol of the city administration, the Mayor of Sarajevo, and the City Council, the City Hall also contains a valuable museum collection preserving the history of Sarajevo from the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian periods. In addition, the City Hall is often associated with resilience, defiance, and the unbreakable spirit of the citizens of Sarajevo who, despite the war and the hardships of surviving the siege, continued to send messages of peace and unity from the capital through various exhibitions, concerts, and documentary films.

 

The second part of the study visit was dedicated to the rich legacy of the Hague Tribunal and the importance of the mandate and work of the first International Criminal Court established on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. As the first court after Tokyo and Nuremberg, it established a legal legacy in a world where, for the first time, the concept of joint criminal enterprise where the Tribunal has applied the modern doctrine of criminal responsibility of superiors, and where a legal precedent was set whereas the Tribunal has specified crucial elements of the crime of genocide, in particular the definition of the target of this crime. The visitors were highly interested in the history of Sarajevo and discussed, among other topics, current issues in society such as the denial of the genocide and the glorification of war criminals—challenges that society continues to face today.

 

Finally, it is important to highlight that the City of Sarajevo signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in 2018, and that there is also close cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for Southeast Europe. Today’s visit stands as proof of the long-standing, rich, and friendly cooperation between the City of Sarajevo and the Federal Republic of Germany.