In the early 1990s the state of Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, a process which is still not fully resolved and has resulted in a series of civil wars in the Western Balkans. The conflicts have been characterised by brutal violence between the different ethnic groups in the region.

Local organisations and peacebuilders are attempting to build stable, peaceful societies in the Western Balkans, and much of their work focuses on improving relations between different ethnic groups who have been divided by the wars.