Reconciliation and Culture Cooperative Network
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RACCOON, Inc. is incorporated as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit non-governmental
organization in New York City. RACCOON, Inc. publishes its activity on the
Internet through The Balkans Pages (your present location on the Net). RACCOON,
Inc. seeks and accepts private and corporate
donations. Proceeds of projects, if any, will, after expenses,
be re-invested in other RACCOON, Inc. projects or donated to the refugee
aid or reconstruction project in post-yugoslav societies chosen by the Board
of Directors. Board of Directors of RACCOON, Inc.
will include, but not be limited to, prominent younger artists or organizations
of related cultural substance with emotional connection to the region and people of post-yugoslav societies. Our staff includes immigrants from all parts of former Yugoslavia - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia.
Indira Kajosevic and Ivo Skoric are co-founders of the RACCOON, Inc.
How We Began
Since the beginning of the war in Bosnia, a conflict resolution dialogue
group has been operating among Bosnian, Serbs, Croats, and other Balkan ethnic
groups in the New York City area.
About Our Location ( WHERE ARE WE LOCATED?)
We have been asked why we would want to headquarter our operations in New
York City, when we primarily want to address the problems in the post-yugoslav
societies: wouldn't a European location make more sense?
- New York City is ideal for our purposes because there is less tension here between the peoples of post-yugoslav societies. Furthermore, we want to leverage the ethnic climate here in New York City, which is more peaceful than in the post-yugoslav societies, and yet even more diverse.
- Being located in the United States, the nation of immigrants, also carries another connotation for individuals dislocated by "the war at home." Expatriots and refugees have a role to play in helping exile communities heal the wounds of war.
- Many peace activists who work in southeastern Europe travel through New York City, either as a transportation stopover point or to conduct their business here. Giving them access to RACCOON could strengthen their efforts, as well as the efforts of our organization.
Balkan Dialogue Group is a project of American Friends Service Committee that brings together Croats, Serbs, Bosnians and Albanians from New York city area interested in dialogue and conflict resolution since as early as 1991. Both Indira Kajosevic and Ivo Skoric were active participants of the group since its inception.
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