After the successful Intercultural Camp, organised by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE), a series of peer workshops were held on the topics of gender equality, peer violence, combating hate speech, and peaceful conflict resolution, which were led by young people themselves in their schools.
The workshops were held at the “Braća Selić ” Secondary School in Kolašin, the “Mehmed Fatih” Madrasah in Tuzi, the “Miloje Dobrašinović” Gymnasium in Bijelo Polje and the “Mehmed Fatih” Madrasah in Rožaje , and the young people, with the mentoring support of the CCE project team, creatively transferred the knowledge they acquired during the Intercultural Camp to their peers.
“Workshops like this can help our peers better understand the importance of gender equality, to more easily recognise and oppose discrimination, violence and unequal opportunities that women face,” says Katarina Rakočević , a student at the “Braća Selić ” Secondary School in Kolašin, who led peer education at that school. “Education helps break down stereotypes and prejudices that limit women in education, employment and social life. We need to talk about these topic in schools, through workshops and debates to empower ourselves to build a society in which everyone has equal opportunities , ” she said.
The importance of this type of education is also emphasized by Merjem Ramović, a student at the “Mehmed Fatih” Madrasah in Rožaje, who also conducted a peer education session. “We live in a digital age, in which everyone has access to social networks. Parents have no control over this, so young people also become advocates of hate speech. That is why it is important that we raise awareness in society today for a better tomorrow ,” she said.
Helena Fatić , a student at the “Miloje Dobrašinović” Gymnasium in Bijelo Polje, who shared her knowledge at that school, has a similar view . “After learning about different aspects of human rights at the Intercultural Camp, we decided to address peaceful resolution of conflict situations in multi-ethnic communities through this workshop because it is important for us young people. This workshop allowed us to share different experiences and perspectives , which is a good way to learn from each other and work to strengthen dialogue ,” she said.
“The workshop that my friend and I designed was aimed at raising awareness among our peers and pointing out the necessity of knowing our own rights – not just as citizens of our country, but first and foremost as human beings. We believe that the concept of human rights in Montenegro must not be foreign to us who are supposed to shape its future,” says Ahmet Redžematović, a student at the “Mehmed Fatih” Madrasah in Tuzi, who led peer education at that school.
These workshops are part of the CCE project “HEART: Support for Empowerment and Resilience of Youth Today“, funded by the European Commission and co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration.
Marlena Ivanović , Programme associate