Throughout Jan-May 2010 Mitrovica FCT forum met weekly with north Mitrovicans taking the risk to cross the river to meet with their counterparts in the south. The Mitrovica community center that was uninhabitable was refurbished for the event – the river area and bridge area were cleaned up to commemorate this event.?Ahead of the 2010 FCT (completed after midnight on the first day of the conference) The Cultural Centre in Mitrovica was completely renovated in 2010 by the Municipality of Mitrovica, including painting and plastering of the inside, reconstruction of the roof and floors and renovation of the chandelier in the main atrium.?Nine cities sent some 50 + delegates, representative of the communities with deep cleavages among them attended. These included the founding cities – Derry~Londonderry, Belfast, Nicosia (Greek and Turkish Cypriots), Kirkuk, and host Mitrovica, and guest cities included – Mostar, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Haifa. The event was a reflection of how the two communities, Albanian and Serb were able to rise above the differences that provide the context for their conflict and create a vibrant program that opened to participating cities the day- to-day experiences of Mitrovicans on both sides of the River Ibar; of how they had found ways to transcend the multiple issues that drive division.?The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and its Kosovo counterpart completed a joint policing partnership under which they exchanged best practice; the PSNI hosted a team of Kosovo police officials from Mitrovica representing both Kosovo/Albanian and Serbian officers in May 2011.?The Brussels agreement directly cited efforts to create policing partnership and normalize joint security as a catalyst for its success.?The Haifa delegation hosted members of the local volunteer corps from both Mitrovicë/Kosovska Mitrovica in Haifa and Jerusalem in August 2011 to learn from cross community youth initiatives that have proven successful in bridging community divides in Haifa
* A special session/retreat for KIRKUK was held in the mountains of Kosovo
