It is easy to explain what is a multinational program - 15-18 year old teenagers get together from the places where there are international/racial or religious problems (including those evolved into the war stage), they live together for one week in a rest-camp near Moscow and by the end of this week's time in one of the halls in Moscow they play a performance staged and produced by themselves. Having shown the performance, they return to their homes. That's it
Such is the declared objective.
It is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to explain what is a multinational program - those 15-18 year old teenagers may not want just to be in the same room with each other, let alone playing in one performance. Because the problems which made them come are too hard, most of these children lived through too much grief of losing their relatives, friends and sometimes their native lands as a result of national conflicts. There is too much hatred in them and too much revenge.
During these 7 days those who consider each other enemies must be helped to learn to speak to each other, to forgive and not to use weapons as the only argument in proving who is right. They themselves must come to the conclusion that war is not an option and that they must learn to find other ways to agree.
That's it.
Such is the actual objective, without which the performance becomes useless. So far, "The Basement" always managed to accomplish this.
The successful result is reached through different means - discussions, negotiations, role modeling, performing and re-living through actual situations.

In the daytime everyone is arguing and screaming their voices off, at nights they get acquainted with the cultures of the participating countries, learn at least one phrase from other languages (most often - "I love you"), they sing songs, tell stories from their lives and argue again, every time trying to prove their "only" truth…
Closer to the fourth day that very moment comes. The moment for which it all was done: they begin to hear, feel each other's pain and learn to forgive.
After this the task of rehearsing a 40-minutes long performance in two days with songs and dancing is a piece of cake.
And when the time comes to leave, these children, who were enemies just a week ago, hug each other and cry.

1990 - The program with the participation of Lithuanians, Russians and Polish children living in Lithuania;
January 1991 - Preparing of and participation in a television program "Multinational relationships by the eyes of the youth. Tonight with Vladimir Pozner";
April 1991 - "Baku Yard" program with the participation of Azerbaijanis and Armenian refugees from Baku.
November 1991 - "Post-empire Union of the Youth" program with the participation of teenagers from all republics of the Soviet Union.
1992 - Preparing of and participation in a television program of V.Pozner "They are ready to live different" with the participation of young people from all the "conflict spots" of the former USSR.
1993 - "Common Home" program with the participation of Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Jews and Russians living in Moscow.
1996 - the first program of the "The Time Has Come!" project with the participation of young people from the "conflict spots" in 9 different countries
1998 - the second program of the "The Time Has Come!" project with the participation of teenagers from 14 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Abkhazia, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Northern Ireland (Catholics and Protestants) and others.
2001 - the third "The Time has Come!" program with the participation of teenagers from Grozny (Chechnya) and Moscow.

"The Children from Pridnestrovie came to Moscow one day later. Amir went to meet them. A girl and two boys around 16 years old in a camouflage uniform get out of the train, one of them limps: got cold in a trench. It was too late to go by metro so they took a walk to "The Basement". All of a sudden a thunder rain begins. The girl runs to the bushes and covers her head. Amir rushes to her: "What happened?". She just thought that it was a bomb raid."
"Moskovski Komsomolets" newspaper

Every evening we gathered together, sat in a circle and lighted a candle around the blue globe. This was called "The Night Ritual". Quiet music played, we were silent and thought our own thoughts. If anyone wanted to share his thoughts he spoke - a life story or a parable or just the things that he\she was feeling at the moment. Then we watered our grass. In the very beginning of the week we planted seeds in two boxes - each person took a pinch and threw it into the warm ground, each one took a scoop of water and the drops from the fingers fell on the baby streaks. All these drops, getting together, gave birth to a new life.
Day by day the circle was getting closer - we were getting closer to each other. And day by day the image of our love - green streaks of grass - were getting taller and stronger.
By the end of the program the grass grew up and we replanted it to a slope of land near "The Basement". Since then every spring, when I sit on that slope, I feel as if I am once again in a circle of my friends.
Traditions of the program "The Time Has Come!"

Last week people from 14 different cultures got together to learn to trust each other. None of us knew what to expect but we met so many wonderful people! We laughed, we cried together, we accepted each other. We realized that we have to fight for our common peace, but if all the people treated each other the way we did it would make our task much easier.
Tina, Ireland

When people talk, the get closer to each other. We have to speak to each other more - only this way we can resolve our problems.
Slavisha, Slovenia

All people are very different in their thoughts but they are very similar in their hearts. I would really wish for all people to be moved more frequently from their hearts. Then our world will get better.
Jamal, Azerbaijan

"An amazing show played by Lithuanian, Russian and Polish children was performed at a square in the center of Vilnius and then - in episodes - in a TV program of Vladimir Pozner. Who knows, maybe if the adults had listened more carefully to their children, then the father of the boy who played in the performance wouldn't have become one of the victims of the Vilnius January."
"Izvestia" newspaper