Many of the regions in Europe that went through conflicts in the last decades are still suffering the consequences of such events. The Council of Europe offers support to the countries which were recently involved in conflicts and are undertaking the process of re-establishing their political, educational, cultural and social institutions.

Recreating the necessary level of mutual trust between those parts of the population that were formerly opposed and promoting the basis for the reconciliation of society are a crucial step in the rebuilding process.

In this context, the Confidence Building Measures devised by the Council of Europe constitute a practical tool to consolidate stability and facilitate political dialogue in post- or frozen-conflict areas.

In collaboration with the Confidence Building Measures Division of the Directorate of Political Affairs, the Council of Europe’s Venice Office organizes meetings and seminars between professionals in the cultural, educational, medical and political field coming from regions that were previously at war.

These events often take place in Venice. The Venice Office offers logistic support, arranges meetings to exchange views with local professionals and programmes visits to places of interest for the participants.   

The following meetings were held in Venice:

1. 13-16 April 2015: for museum curators from Tbilisi and Sukhumi.

2. 8-9 December 2015: “The role of media in building a democratic society in post-conflict regions”, for journalists from Tbilisi and Sukhumi.

3. 10 December 2015: “Second meeting on archives materials from the 1930s”, for museum curators from Tbilisi and Sukhumi.

4. 11-14 April 2016: “Meeting of representatives of municipal authorities located along the Inter-Entity boundary, Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

5. 14-16 December 2016: “Fourth Meeting of Human Rights defenders institutions and civil society representatives from Tbilisi and Sukhumi”.

6. 31 May – 2 June 2017: “Second meeting – introductory training and exchange of views between psychology and psychiatry specialists from Tbilisi and Sukhumi”.

7. 15-16 November 2017: "Third meeting on archives materials from the 1930s", for archivists and historians from Tbilisi and Sukhumi.

8. 14-15 February 2018: "Fourth training session on drugs prevention and treatment", for professionals from Tbilisi and Sukhumi; practical training on interpretation techniques from Russian into Abkhaz for nine interpreters.