“We teach children to take care of themselves in order to protect themselves from others and others from themselves,” was one of the messages from today’s training organized by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) in Kotor on the topic of prevention and intervention in cases of peer violence.
The training gathered 22 pedagogues and psychologists from primary and secondary schools from the southern part of Montenegro. Together with psychologist Maruška Drašković, they developed skills in recognizing and effectively responding to peer violence, which increasingly threatens the safety of young people but also wider groups in society. This highlights the need for a systemic response, part of which includes strengthening the capacities of pedagogues and psychologists working within the education system.
Vanesa Manojlović, a pedagogue at the Resource Center for Hearing and Speech “Dr Peruta Ivanović” in Kotor, described the seminar as exceptionally creative and uniquely structured. “Also, the participants are open, cooperative, and eager to share experiences and knowledge, which allows for a broader perspective. I believe that through this, we are not only gaining knowledge but also practical tools that we will apply in our future work in school,” she emphasizes.
“Pedagogical and psychological services are always involved in addressing peer violence, which is a highly relevant and important topic, so this opportunity for additional strengthening and support for pedagogical and psychological services in schools is even more significant. I hope that this experience will help us in working with students, teachers and parents. We teach children to take care of themselves to protect themselves from others and others from themselves,” says Milanka Okuka, a pedagogue at the Secondary Vocational School in Bar.
“I am very satisfied with the participants of the seminar. They are highly interested, actively involved, and I I particularly appreciate that we are not in a traditional lecture format but rather in a workshop setting, which enables interaction and the exchange of ideas, experiences, and knowledge. For me, it is especially important that we are addressing the topic of non-violence. To achieve non-violence, we must first work on ourselves. We need to recognize what we are doing to ourselves to become more complete, mature and aware, so we can progress and extend that progress to others”, emphasized Maruška Drašković, the trainer of the workshop.
The training is part of the project “HEART: Support for Empowerment and Resilience of Youth Today,” funded by the EU Delegation in Montenegro and co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration.
Tijana Vukčević, project assistant