Interculturalism in Education for Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina
“Interculturalism in Education” promotes equality, cultural diversity, human rights, provides equal opportunities and develops intercultural competencies. The project aims to create an atmosphere of accepting diversity among young people in school through the strengthening of intercultural education. Children of Montenegro non-profit organization (NGO Djeca Crne Gore) implements the project in partnership with the Association of Pedagogues of Montenegro and the Network for Building Peace from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
High school students and teams of teachers from Montenegro Gymnasium “Slobodan Skerovic” Podgorica, the Madrasa “Mehmet Fatih” Tuzi and Sarajevo First Gymnasium and Gymnasium Sarajevo School of Science and Technology from Bosnia and Herzegovina had the opportunity to collaborate on especially designed and online-adopted training sessions. The training programme aimed at strengthening the capacities of students and teachers, while enabling them to address challenges of the development of intercultural competencies among students through establishing policy, culture and practices in schools.
Additionally, to improve dialogue among young people and strengthen their capacities in the fight against hate speech and prejudice, an innovative and creative tool for social change, “Forum Theatre” method in education, was introduced to the participants. Forum theatre is a form of interactive theatre that engages the young people in participating in the performance, enabling them to influence the outcome.
With the aim to educate them on interactive plays, several students and teachers received training in Forum Theatre. In their respective schools, this innovative form of theatre explores and raises awareness to certain issues such as prejudice, violence prevention, and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or other grounds. Organising interactive plays empowers the participants to actively participate in identifying the problems and in constructing the solutions.
A significant outcome of the project is a research conducted on a large number of students, teachers and parents; 1311 students, 190 teachers and 23 parents participated through online questionnaires and focus groups.
The research contributed to the democratic development of societies in these two countries, through better understanding and strengthening of multicultural identity among young people and strengthening their role as a driver of democratic development of society. The researchers analysed the circumstances in which young people are educated in Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina, their behaviour, attitudes and hopes.
The final phase of the project, through an online conference, will summarize the results of the research related to multiculturalism in education as well as processes and outcomes of trainings, and Forum Theatre plays.
The project is realized within the joint UN Regional Programme “Dialogue for the Future: Promoting Dialogue and Social Cohesion in and Between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia” implemented by UNESCO, UNDP and UNICEF, with the support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund.