STAY OF BUJANOVAC STUDENTS IN PESTALOZZI CHILDREN’S VILLAGE IN SWITZERLAND – PARTICIPATION IN INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

1. June 2018.

As part of the project "Our City, Our Schools," which is implemented by the Coordination Body’s Office of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the Municipalities of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, along with its partner organization “Group 484”, and with the support of the Pestalozzi Children's Foundation, a group of 40 or so students stayed in Trogen, which is the children's village in Switzerland.

In the period from May 8 to 24, students from six schools in the municipality of Bujanovac had the opportunity to take part in the program of intercultural exchange and to actively participate in educational workshops together with their peers from Switzerland. The schools included in the program are secondary vocational school "Saint Sava," primary school "Naim Fraseri," primary school "Branko Radicevic," primary school "Ali Bektasi" from the village of Nesalce and primary school "Vuk S. Karadzic" from the village of Levosoje.

Topics that were addressed in the program are the following: intercultural education, understanding diversity, the rights of the child, the issues of stereotypes and prejudices, etc.

The children successfully presented and demonstrated their skills, shared their experiences and thoughts with other students, who participated in the intercultural exchange program in the Pestalozzi Children's Village. In the course of two weeks, through various workshops, the children adopted new knowledge and skills, which they would transfer to their peers.

Apart from the workshops, the children went to see several places in Switzerland and Austria, visiting many historical and cultural sites.

At the end of the training, the official distribution of certificates of participation in the program of intercultural exchange was organized for all participants in the training, including six supervisors who helped with the implementation of the important program of intercultural exchange.

During their stay in Switzerland, the children undertook the task of transferring in the coming days, in public or in their schools, all the experience and gained knowledge to their peers through a variety of educational and cultural activities.

All the students are very pleased that they had the opportunity to gain this experience, which they are sure would serve them to further develop their careers and personalities in the future.

Source: Coordination Body