Subject: NYT Web Announcement
On Monday, June 10th, The New York Times on the Web launched an
interactive multimedia photojournalism project that chronicles Bosnia's
struggle for peace. "Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace," features an
electronic gallery of more than one hundred and fifty images by renowned
photojournalist Gilles Peress, and a month-long worldwide discussion on war
and peace in the former Yugoslavia. Anyone with Internet access can view
and participate in the project without charge or registration at
http://www.nytimes.com/bosnia.
Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace encourages participation from individuals
all over the world, particularly in locations closest to the conflict and
its unfolding resolution. Live Internet connections through 15 publicly
accessible terminals at Sarajevo University have been set up by the Soros
Foundation so Bosnians themselves can take part. Terminals linked to the Web
site have been installed by IBM at the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, and at the United Nations
in New York. Global discussions are being initiated on the political, social
and cultural issues raised by the war.
Peress' images are a personal and journalistic chronicle of the final weeks
of the siege of Sarajevo, including the exodus of the Serbs from the city's
suburbs. The interactive photo essay, combined with the photographer's
narrative, provides the viewer with information and experiences similar to
those encountered by journalists witnessing the end of the war.
Peress is known for his photographic coverage of conflicts in Iran, Northern
Ireland, Rwanda, and Bosnia. Viewers are encouraged to submit comments
and reactions. Individuals in the former Yugoslavia are being invited to
email their own accounts of events.
More than ten Internet forums are being conducted by leading intellectual
and political figures specializing in different aspects of the Bosnia
conflict, including the war and its destruction, preceding historical
events, the religious dimension, and political ramifications. Bernard
Gwertzman, senior editor, is overseeing the forums. Hosts and participants
include:
* Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
* Ervin Staub, professor of psychology studying genocide at the
University of Massachusetts
* Steve Walker, formerly of the U.S. State Department
* Manuela Dobos, professor of Balkanology at the City University of NY
* Aryeh Neier, president of the Soros Foundation & the Open Society
Institute
* Christiane Amanpour, senior international correspondent for CNN
Users can also access multimedia background materials, color maps, audio
clips, archival articles from New York Times correspondents, and links to
relevant sites on the Web. Highlights of discussions and forum
contributions will be posted regularly on the site. The site itself will
remain accessible until August.
So much of the imagery that comes at us from television leaves us unable to
respond. This project, using a two-way medium, allows us to both feel the
power of Peress' images, but also to respond, to join a worldwide community
of others who can no longer be silent about what they see and hear through
the media.
We invite you to visit this new and important Web site early and often. It
can be reached either from The New York Times on the Web's home page
(http://www.nytimes.com), or by pointing your browser to
http://www.nytimes.com/bosnia.