Conference in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo: Challenges of educational reforms

On December 12, 2012 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the conference on the challenges of educational reforms was held on the occasion of 10th anniversary of Bosnia and Herzegovina membership in the Council of Europe. The event took place in the Parliamentary Assembly of BIH. The topics discussed during the conference were related to the challenges of educational reforms.

The conference brought together representatives from ministries, universities, non-governmental organizations and associations that have their own participation in the educational processes in BiH and beyond.

The conference was opened by the Minister of Civil Affairs Mr. Sredoje Novic, head of the Council of Europe office in BiH Ms. Mary Ann Hennessy and head of the program of the EU delegation in BiH Mr. Holger Shroeder.

Main points that were discussed during the conference where:

– Overcoming discrimination and segregation in the education system, an obligation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of human rights;

– To practice and teach human rights and democracy;

– Study of democracy and human rights;

– Linguistic diversity, cultural diversity in education in a European context.

In the final part of the conference, the section dedicated to linguistic and cultural diversity in education in a European context, Despina Stojanovska representative NDC Skopje, presented the Nansen model for integrated education (NMIE) as a positive example successfully implemented in Macedonia. After the theoretical perspectives that were presented to the conference participants, the practical application of integrated education model was conveyed through a thorough presentation which raised interest among attendees for additional questions and sharing experiences that were discussed even beyond the conference official agenda.

NDC Skopje participation at this conference was an opportunity to promote the Nansen model for integrated education and to establish new contacts with some of the participants working on the same or similar thematic field.