BOSTON — Mitrovica is a city that is divided by a river and the hatred that runs through it.

On one side of the river are the ethnic Serbs who see their city as part of Serbia and on the other side are the ethnic Albanians who believe their city is part of the newly established Kosovo.

It is just one of the five divided cities that have sent delegations to Boston this week for an extraordinary gathering hosted by the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

The idea behind the conference titled "The Forum for Cities in Transition" is that divided cities such as Belfast, Beirut, Nicosia and Kirkuk have much to learn from each other and can help each other find a path toward peace and reconciliation. Delegates from each of these bitterly divided places have gathered for a three-day conference that ends tomorrow.

And the leaders of Mitrovica seem to be learning their lessons well here in Boston.

The officials from Mitrovica agreed to have their city serve as the host to another meeting of divided cities next year.

Padraig O'Malley, the distinguished professor of peace and reconciliation at UMass who brought the leaders of these cities together, said the gesture by Mitrovica was more than significant progress.

The city is a place "where there would be no cooperation before" and now, he added, delegates "have decided to do something as a single city, hosting the first event of the conference."

"This is the part of Kosovo that nobody could crack. It's major," said O'Malley, who has worked tirelessly over two decades to help communities torn by war to find a way toward healing and reconciliation.

See Charlie Sennott's column on O'Malley's peace efforts and GlobalPost's coverage of the first day of the conference.