nansen dijalog centar

Parents' Club «For Children of Vukovar» and Nansen Dialogue Centre Osijek are starting, in accordance to Constitutional educational rights, as well as in accordance to the right of parents and children to choose type and quality of primary education, following initiative.

INITIATIVE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW SCHOOL

After the war and consequent reintegration of Vukovar in Croatia it became obvious that it is very hard to re-establish communication between its inhabitants of different nationalities. Thus functional coexistence is hard to achieve in all aspects of life, including education.

By the end of the process of peaceful reintegration the teaching in schools in Vukovar and its surrounding areas was organised according to Croatian teaching plan and programme in a way that enabled members of minorities to exercise their right to education in their language and alphabet in separate classes. This led to the division in «Croatian» and «Serbian» classes that attend schools in different shifts and even different buildings.

Such a division, according to opinions of number of experts, but parents of primary school children as well, leads to even greater level of division of already «divided city»

In 2003 NDC has, in cooperation with Institute of Education of the Republic of Croatia, started a project The New School. Aim of this project is a quality school that by its contents, relations and ways of working respects needs of children, parents and teachers who live and work in multi-ethnic and multi-cultural community.

Teachers, parents and other citizens of Vukovar are participating in this project.

Parents' Club «For Children of Vukovar» was formed as a result of the work of NDC with parents who voiced their dissatisfaction with a present division in schools, but also with an atmosphere of division in the whole city, and who expressed a need for a joint education of their children.

Parents' Club advocates and supports a school in which: all children will learn and live together, help each other and grow together, be accepted and satisfied with school, feel secure and will be happy in school.

Values that The New School is promoting are: acceptance and respect for others, accepting differences, inclusiveness, solidarity, equal opportunities and non-violence and peaceful coexistence.

The New School will be new also because of the relations it fosters, and because of methods and modalities of work. This will be a school that will enable acquiring of knowledge and skills useful and needed for modern life, this will be a school that respects individuality and identity of every pupil, parent and a member of school staff. This will be a school that develops, among its pupils, following characteristics: creativity, competence, critical thinking, teamwork and cooperation, as well as conflict resolution skills.

The New School will not only enable members of minority to realise their right to education in their own language and alphabet and to learn about their cultural heritage, but goes a step further, The New School enables and encourages all pupils to learn about cultural heritage of all ethnic groups that live in Vukovar region so that they get to know each other, understand and respect their differences.

Curriculum (plan and programme) was developed and created by teachers according to stated needs of parents and children in Vukovar, and with an expert help and support of the consultants of the Institute of Education of Republic of Croatia, Osijek Branch.

Parents organised in Parents' Club are requesting, according to their Constitutional right as parents, that a state enables and ensures education of children in The New School, in accordance to democratic standards and European orientation of our homeland.

Parents' Club by lobbying for this does not, in any way, deny the need of every citizen/parent in Vukovar to up bring their child according to his/hers personal and family values, but asks for, as a civil initiative, that they are given the opportunity to educate their children according to their needs and needs of their children.